Into The Fire
by YoursTrulyxxBlondiexx
Summary: "Kids, it's time I tell you the story of how I met your mother..." The words trail from Arizona's mouth, as she begins the story of her detailed history and just how she met her children's mother. This is a somewhat AU story. For now, the rating is T, but that is subject to change.
1. Chapter 1

Summary; Through complications, lost loves, and lost loved ones, Arizona found the one- the mother of her children. One day, she finally decides it's time to tell her children just how she met their mother.

**A/N; Okay, so I want it to be known that this is my first Grey's Anatomy fanfic. Although it isn't my first story ever, (I deleted those off of this account, mostly because as I now reflect they are just foolish nonsense) it is kind of… a new field of writing for me. Positive or negative feedback is welcomed, for I am an inexperienced writer for the most part, still developing. This fic shall be mostly Arizona centric, so be prepared!**

* * *

Arizona Robbins turned onto her side and stretched her arm to the buzzing alarm clock on the night stand next to her bed. She slammed the appendage onto the off button, and pulled herself out of the warm, comfortable, soft bed. Sighing, she trudged to the front of her dresser drawers, and pulled a lacy bra and panties from the top drawer, a somewhat baggy yet cute t-shirt from the middle, and a pair of gym shorts from the bottom.

Moving to her linen closet, she clasped a towel set in her free hand and slithered out of her bedroom into the bathroom down the hall. She walked in, placed her towels on the rack beside the shower, and put her clean clothing temporarily on the counter top. Stripping out of her dirty clothing, she chucked them into the wicker laundry basket and laid her new clothing on the top.

Arizona turned the water on, not too hot, not too cold. Just perfect and right for her. She stepped into the shower, and began to feel herself genuinely waking up. She grabbed her shampoo bottle and squirted the soapy liquid onto the top of her head, closed it, and began tenderly rubbing it in.

Just as she was finishing her shower, literally having just turned off the water, her twin brother waltzed into the bathroom and opened the toilet lid and began to urinate. Arizona, not really one to be shy, pulled back the shower curtain and walked on out of the shower. She picked her towel up off the rack and tied it neatly around her body, and then walked over to her brother. She tapped him on the shoulder politely, and he jumped, and whipped around.

"Jesus fucking Christ, Arizona! You fucking scared me!" he hissed at his elder sibling.

"Well, Timothy, maybe if you didn't know you could knock before you enter the bathroom and maybe this wouldn't happen," she answered back, a grin forming on her lips.

"'Zona, you know me. I've never been one to knock."

"Trust me, Timothy, I know."

He sheepishly grinned at her, and she blankly blinked back.

"You have five seconds to put that thing back in your pants, flush, and get out before I drop my towel."

Timothy let out a quiet, very not so manly squeak, and attempted to race out of the bathroom.

"Five, four, three, two," Arizona began, her fingers going to the slight tie she'd made in the towels, "one."

The blonde female was, undoubtedly, naked. And the blonde male? Racing out of the bathroom like a scared puppy. She stuck her head out of the door as she went to shut it, grinning and shouting,  
"The hand sanitizer is in the top drawer of your desk, Tim!"

The door was now shut, and the blonde was already getting herself dressed.

Ten minutes later, she emerged from the room and walked with a grin back to her own. Arizona Robbins was a morning person, that was for sure. With a slight skip in her step, she arranged her items into her bag and placed it back where it had previously been. She soon hurried down the stairs of her house.

* * *

At the bottom of the stairs, she was met by her father, Colonel Robbins, to whom she saluted and waited for morning orders.

"Seventy-two push-ups, one hundred and fifty sit-ups, and eighty-eight pull-ups! Now!"

Arizona, in a military fashion, saluted her father and said,

"Yes sir!" And with that, she took off in a semi-jog, semi-run to the training area set up out behind her house. Her father marched outside behind her, watching his daughter do the mandatory physical training.

After she'd done her sixtieth push-up, her father said,

"Arizona Robbins you stop right there! One arm, left!"

She complied with her father's orders, she honestly didn't want to get into an argument with the man who'd help raise her and make her the person she was. She finished her push-ups, having not even broken a sweat, and began her sit ups. Those were a piece of cake, in her mind. It took her almost a minute to finish her one hundred and fiftieth, and then she got up and jogged to the bar and began to do her pull-ups.

A few seconds later, she found herself doing one armed pull-ups, counting loudly out,

"Sixty! Sixty-one! Sixty-two! Sixty-three! Sixty-four! Sixty-five! Sixty-six! Sixty-seven! Sixty-eight! Sixty-nine!" As she stated sixty-nine, she couldn't help but giggle slightly, which caused her father to yell,

"YOU THINK THIS IS FUNNY, MAGGOT! YOU THINK THIS IS EVEN THE SLIGHTEST BIT FUNNY! HOW ABOUT YOU RUN AN EXTRA TWO MILES THIS MORNING! BETTER YET, MAKE THAT THREE MILES IN UNDER TEN MINUTES!"

Arizona mentally cursed herself, but calmly added a "Yes sir!" into her counting. As soon as she got to eighty-eight, she leapt away from the bar and went out front and began to run on the sidewalk in the housing development in which she lived.

Her usual run was four miles, but today it seemed it would be seven. She took off at a moderate speed and ran her first few miles, but for the last three, she took a deep breath and began sprinting at a nice speed. She had to finish those miles in the allotted time, or else her father wouldn't allow her to go to school without running more.

As she ran, she contemplated how her day could go, if her classes here in this new town would be any fun or not. She truly didn't know. She'd been in this new town for a week, but had not gone to school just yet- her father wanted her and her twin to help him and their mother unpack the boxes and crates and whatever else.

Today was Timothy and her's first day, and god was she excited. Cautiously grinning as she sprinted at top speed for the last half of her last mile, she arrived back at the front of her house barely even sweating.

"Sir," she stated as she stopped her movement, saluting, "may I go inside, sir?" Her father gave her a brief nod, as he apparently seemed to be waiting for something. Arizona imagined it was for her brother to return from his morningly run.

As she stepped inside, she teetered back up the stairs and slipped into her bedroom. She picked out a pair of cargo shorts, and a cute sort of tight fitting top to wear. She didn't want to overdo it for her first day, but also didn't want to look like…well, trash.

Arizona went back into the bathroom and took another shower, this time much shorter, and exited just as her brother was preparing to barge in. The blonde scurried on down the hall, smirking, to her bedroom and she grabbed her bag and headed down the stairs. Her father was sitting in the kitchen, a somber look on his face. She stared at the man for a moment, but shook the confusion from her face. She picked up her keys from the bowl, and turned to her father yet again.

"Sir, I'll be leaving for school now, sir." Arizona saluted and turned to the door and began to walk out.

"Arizona!" Her father's voice literally boomed at her, and she stopped all movements and turned back around. "Have a nice day, honey."

She let out a sound of relief, before allowing light laughter to spill from her lips. Hurrying out of the door, she walked into their garage. Eyeing her corvette, she strutted over to it and opened the door. She put the keys in the ignition, and soon she was cruising down the road to the local high school.

The most recent time they'd moved- here, where they lived now – was to Jacksonville, North Carolina. Home sweet home, this hick town was for the next few months.

* * *

A few minutes later she was pulling into a parking spot, parking her car, and stepping out onto the pavement. Cautiously she walked into the building in front of her, and found her way to the main office. She casually strolled on up to the desk, and politely said,

"Excuse me, ma'am, I am new here, Arizona Robbins, and I was wondering if you have my schedule?"

The lady gave her a bland look, but typed her name into the system and Arizona soon heard the sound of a printer starting. Moments later, in her hands was her class schedule. She mumbled a quick thank you to the woman behind the desk, and scurried out of the office. She grinned at the schedule. She, a senior, somehow had gotten placed into all of the advanced classes the school had.

Arizona began strolling down the hallway, but was interrupted as two arms suddenly wrapped around her and a strange voice hissed, "Guess who!"

Not being one to play, especially when she knew no one in this town, turned around and kneed whoever it was before looking to see.

"Oh my god, Timothy! Damn you! Don't ever do that again!" She bent down and grabbed his arm to pull him up, before she busted into laughter. "Dammit Tim, you got me."

He smirked at her and whispered, "That's payback for the shower."

"Anyways, Tim, what classes did you get?"

The twins traded schedules, and as it turned out, they had all of the same classes at all of the same times.

"These teachers will need to prepare themselves… Double trouble. Robbins style." Arizona and Timothy smirked as they walked down the hallway together, both as equally lost as the other. However, with some luck the two found their homeroom class and walked in, claiming the two seats at the front that were closest to the door.

Soon enough the class became full and the bell rang, signaling the start of their day. Their teacher, Mr. Hamilton, looked the two of them over and stated,

"Class, it seems we've new students… Care to introduce yourselves?"

Arizona and Timothy stood up, cheeky grins on both of their faces.

"I'm Arizona," "and I'm Tim," the two of them said the last one at the same time,

"Robbins. We're twins."

The class seemed slightly mystified, but only for a moment. The two blondes took their seats once again, and let the day continue on.

* * *

By the time lunch came along, the blondes had managed to be befriended by a girl named Lucy and her friend Jacob. Lucy was slightly shorter than Arizona, but what she lacked in height she had in attitude and personality.

If Arizona was being honest, Lucy wouldn't have normally been her first pick of a friend, but she decided to give the girl a try. She seemed nice enough, at least, and that was all that mattered.

The four of them bought their lunches and took a seat at an empty table, starting a conversation. Since they didn't know each other that well, they decided to go around and have everyone say one thing most people didn't know about them, though it didn't work so well between Arizona and Timothy because they were twins.

"I love math, it's my absolute favorite subject in school. I seem to just…click with it," voiced Lucy, trying to start off the activity.

"I'm a military brat," spoke Arizona, which received a smack on the arm from Timothy.

"That's what I was gonna say! Damn," he whined and pouted to his twin momentarily before a sly grin came on his face. "When I was four, I broke my collar bone and my left arm."

Arizona shifted a glare at the boy, but then turned to Jacob,

"How about you?"

"Uh, right, me… Well, I'm the oldest of seven…" He trailed off, a shy look on his face. Timothy winked at Arizona and she sent him a slight smile, before they continued the conversation with Lucy asking, "You two are military brats?"

By the time the day ended, Arizona and Timothy had gained many new friends- and had been invited to join sports teams. However, the two knew that even though they'd said "maybe" the answer would turn into a definite no, for they'd be moving again in a month or so. That was the short end of the stick being a military brat. You got to meet so many people and have so many opportunities but couldn't ever take them up.

* * *

As the twins pulled into their garage, they were met by their father. They saluted, and got out of their respective cars. The elder man began to speak.

"Now, I know that you two have found a liking to this place already. We've been here a little over a week. And I just want you to know…" the man trailed off, staring at the ground.

"Sir, we're moving again aren't we, sir?" Arizona spoke, breaking the silence. She'd known not to get too attached, but damn, she wasn't expecting to have to leave so soon. She'd literally only just had her first day of school.

"There are two options at hand. Whichever you two choose, it will not change what I do. However, what you choose you cannot back out of. You have one month to decide…" The man trailed off yet again, before looking at the two in front of him.

"You have one month to decide if you want to stay here for the rest of your high school career… or if you want to move to one or two more military base homes. Eventually, after the one or two more homes, it would become permanent… The only stipulation is, I have to go back into training and then prepare for war. We aren't sure but… But we think that there may be conflict and the Marines need to prepare. Despite what you do, I will go to training and prepare."

Their father saluted them, before turning and marching slowly inside of their house.

Neither Arizona nor Timothy said a word. They separately walked into their house, and went to their bedrooms. The blonde female stripped her top and bra off, only to replace it with a sports bra. Her cargo shorts soon were gym shorts, and she was back outside.

* * *

When Arizona was stressed or seemed to be deep in thought, she ran. She'd run for hours, for miles, for however long it took her to feel once again like herself.

Taking off at a light speed, the blonde ran. She just ran. She ran away from the new situation at hand. It seemed to her that every single time she had settled in, no matter how long it truly was, she had to be uprooted and gone once more. The more the blonde thought, the quicker she began to run.

_I just don't understand! Why does this have to keep happening? Okay that was an ignorant question… I know why it has to keep happening, my father is a Marine. He serves his country well. But he's giving us an option this time! An option, a way out, a chance to make a life and name for myself here in this town. I still have a month to figure things out, though. Today was only my first day, I mean I can totally go back tomorrow and end up hating it and decide that I'll go with my father, right? I'll give it a few more days… _

The sound of a car horn brought Arizona out of her trance. Apparently, in her stupor of thoughts she'd found herself stopped dead in the middle of the road. Quickly, she moved out of the way and yelped a quick, "Sorry!" to the woman behind the wheel of the mustang that had blared its horn at her. The woman simply glared at Arizona as she drove off.

It wasn't until another hour had passed that Arizona found herself entering her front door. Although after her encounter with the woman in the car she had come home, she had spent the extra hour outside doing push-ups, pull-ups, and sit-ups. She was trying to do anything she could to avoid going inside, and stirring the thoughts that had thankfully left her head back up.

After entering her house, she went into the kitchen and found the leftovers from someone's dinner. Heating the leftover roast beef and potatoes, Arizona sat down at the table to her left and began devouring the meal. Within minutes she had finished the petty meal, and she was finding herself back upstairs in her room. Not bothering to shower, she stripped the gym shorts off of her body and laid on top of the covers.

Arizona was in a mood, and she certainly didn't want to be bothered. Her family had a strict no locking the door policy, so as she lay she kept an eye on the handle to check and see if it ever moved.

It didn't.

As Arizona stared, she soon began to lose consciousness, her body being too overworked and tired. The last thing she remembered was drifting off into a peaceful, quiet sleep as the darkness engulfed her.

**A/N; Okay, so there's the first chapter. Again, I'm kind of new at this. If there's any critique, positive or negative, just throw it at me. I'm open to anything. Thanks for reading! Review, please!**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N; Thanks those whom reviewed or subscribed to the story. I realize that yes, there definitely is a lot of work to be done in order to make this be something people constantly want to read and are anxiously waiting for a new chapter to be added. There honestly isn't any excuse for my poor writing in the first chapter, and I won't promise that it'll get tons and tons better as I mature more, and as I keep writing. That's something I can't humanly promise. What I can, and intend to promise, is that I will try and improve. I promise to try my best to improve my writing, and its ability to be believable. I also promise to try and incorporate some ideas of the reviewers into the story as well. Not everything, but perhaps some small ideas. All of this being said, here is chapter two.**

* * *

It had been two weeks since her father had given Arizona and Timothy the choice between going with him and staying in North Carolina. Arizona had found the town to be a quaint little place, somewhat homey. She didn't necessarily think it was right for her and her brother to finish their high school years at, though.

She still hadn't spoken about the matter at hand since her father presented it. Every morning since she'd reported for the physical training he made her endure, and then every day she went to school. She would come home, and go hide herself up in her room.

Arizona knew she had two weeks left to decide. She desperately wanted to know what Tim was planning on doing, but didn't want to ask him. She also knew that whatever he did, she would do. They were twins, they stuck together. And no one was going to change that.

The ceiling fan in her room rotated slowly and slowly around, and Arizona's eyes were fixated on the rotation. It seemed so calming, relaxing, and for the most part made her seem to forget every little thing on her mind.

Even though the two knew that chances are they'd be leaving again, very soon, Timothy had decided to get himself involved with a girl. He'd decided to start dating Lucy. Arizona presumed it was just something to take his mind off of things, and the worst part of it was the poor girl didn't know that in two weeks, possibly, he'd be gone.

* * *

There was a light knock at Arizona's door. She knew that it couldn't be Tim, then, and most likely it wasn't her father. That left her mother.

Fidgeting with her tank top as she sat up, Arizona sighed and mumbled a quick, "come in".

The door quietly came open, and was shut just as loud. She didn't bother looking up to see who it was, she just muttered,

"I know you're going with Tim and I's father, mom. You don't have to tell me."

"Well," a tender voice began, "first off, I'm not your mother, and secondly, where's your father going?"

"I did not know you were here to see Timothy," Arizona stated, not answering the question.

"I'm not here to see Tim. I'm here to see you," the kind voice of Lucy boldly stated at Arizona. Confusion filled the blonde's eyes, and the girl standing before her walked over to her bed and sat down next to her.

Arizona didn't ask the question both of them knew she wanted to ask. The tempting blue eyes of the blonde only fluttered over to stare at the girl whom was now next to her.

"I came… I came to do this…" Lucy trailed off, and she leaned into Arizona's face. The blonde panicked, and went to shove Lucy away, but the other female slammed her shoulders down onto the bed and leaned in further, their lips only inches apart.

"No, Lucy." Arizona stated, her voice not wavering. But the brunette closed the gap, and placed a deep kiss on Arizona's lips. The blonde let out a whimper, and twisted her arm up to slap Lucy.

The slap temporarily surprised the female, and caused her to let go of Arizona's shoulders. Quickly, she shoved the brunette off of her and she stood up.

"You need to leave, now. Get out of my house." Arizona pointed to the door with a sharp hand. The brunette, a confused look on her face, exited the room. Arizona followed, only to make sure she walked down the stairs and left the house. Turning on her heel, she made a beeline for Timothy Robbins's bedroom.

* * *

She stood outside of the door for not even a second before the door was slammed open and quickly shut again. Ignoring the "you aren't allowed to lock the door" rule her parent's had nailed into her and Timothy's heads, Arizona locked the door.

She waltzed over to Timothy and grasped book from his hands, shut it, and threw it to the ground.

"What the hell!" Timothy yelled, jumping up at his sister.

"You are going to listen as I speak, and speak when I tell you to."

"Like hell, Arizona. Like hell."

"Timothy, please…" Arizona's voice went quiet, unsure of why she had been so forceful with her brother.

Her brother sighed, and nodded. They both sat down on the bed in his room, and Arizona breathed out.

"I-I'm scared, Tim, I'm scared to stay. I'm scared to go. I don't know what I should do, and it terrifies me. I'm doing whatever you do, no matter what. Stay or go, Timothy Robbins, I'll be right there with you." She paused, taking a moment to breathe and relax. "There's… There is more, Tim, something else I need to tell you."

"What is it, 'Zona?"

"Timothy… I," she paused to breathe, "I was in my room, and Lucy came in. I don't know what she was doing, Tim, I don't. She pinned me down on my bed and she kissed me. But that isn't all of it," she paused yet again.

"I'm a lesbian, Tim. There isn't any changing that. So sometimes you're going to have to fight me for a girl. Um, you can talk, now…"

"Arizona, I'm most definitely going. And damn! I was so right! You're a lesbian! I am going to dance so hard at your wedding. Your bride may just turn straight for me," he winked at her and wrapped his arms around her, embracing her in a hug.

"And for the Lucy thing? We're going to be gone in two weeks anyways. Forget her, I'll meet another girl. And so will you."

Arizona breathed out, almost in shock. Her brother was perfectly fine with her being a lesbian? This had to be a dream…

"We better get packing then, Timothy…"

Arizona stood up, taking herself out of Timothy's hug, and she walked over to the door. She unlocked it, and flashed him a kind grin. "Don't tell Colonel Robbins or mom, okay? I need to tell them myself that I will marry a woman."

* * *

She was soon gone from Timothy's room, back in her own. She'd kept some plastic storage containers from the previous move in her closet, and she took two of them out and began to pack away her life.

The next morning when Arizona reported for the morning PT, she told her father that she was most definitely coming along with him when he had to move again. He'd asked her if that meant Timothy was coming along, and she had responded a simple "yes sir".

For some reason, her father went lighter on her during the training session. However, he told her to make sure she ran an extra mile than she normally did. Somewhat confused, Arizona complied.

Thirty minutes later, Arizona was on her way to school- but this time her father was driving her. He was taking her, as well as her brother, so that he could officially extract them from school at Jacksonville High. They'd finish that day and the next, so they could finish packing things, but would be deployed out of state immediately.

To Arizona, this was all surreal. It was like a dream to her. As she and Timothy went to their first block class, she felt like she was floating. Arizona felt like for once she might be happy about moving.

**A/N; Okay… That's it, that was chapter two. I tried to make it more realistic, I honestly did. I had a specific mindset of where I wanted this to go, and then somehow I got very pissed off and started writing based off of that emotion. I don't know if it is able to be seen, how the emotions changed as I was writing or not, but it definitely happened. Um, I feel like this definitely won't be one of the strongest chapters, and I know as an author that isn't exactly wise to admit that it sucks to the readers, but I feel like I should be honest. However, I am leaving it as it is. Review away, please.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N; Sorry it took so long to write Chapter 3. I need to say something before I say what I originally wanted in this author's note… What the hell is up with the changes in the rating system? That is seriously fucked up. The former M rated stories basically being bumped down to what used to be the allowances of T rated stories! Outrageous! **

**Anyways, I finally had a perfect idea for this chapter, and it was brought along sort of by someone who had reviewed. It made me think for a bit, and originally I wasn't going to do this until very late in the story. But the conversation I had after the initial review inspired me to go ahead and do it now. Also, anything in italics is a signal to the future/present. As you can tell, this story is in the past, and so the italics will represent what from that point in time is the future, but is technically also the present. Generally I will section off those bits and pieces, but just in case I forget to, you have a reminder.  
**

**I keep forgetting to put this, but this is an AU story. Not like, hugely AU, but still an AU story. And also, I don't own Grey's Anatomy or any of the characters.**

* * *

Arizona sighed as she looked out at the water beside her. She was in her brother's car, sitting in the passenger side as he drove them home from the mall.

It had been a month. A month since she'd moved to the new town. It had been over a month since she'd decided that she was glad she had chosen to leave Jacksonville, North Carolina.

Somehow, her family had ended up with a lake nearby their house, and no one ever told them they weren't allowed to go to the pier, and so Arizona had found herself a new place to think. A perfect place to think… And right now, Timothy was driving them just to that place.

Moments later, the car was parked and the twins were off walking in silence to the pier. Arizona ditched her shoes the moment she reached the edge, and plopped herself down. Her feet hung off the edge, unable to reach the water inches below them. She huffed out air.

Timothy sat down beside her, his shoes also off, but his feet just barely managed to touch the water. He grinned at this, dimples appearing on his face.

The sunset in front of them both looked beautiful, magical even. Arizona couldn't help but smile from the way the sky looked. She tore her eyes away from the sight to glance at her brother.

"How did you know?" Her words broke the comfortable silence between the two.

"What do you mean, 'Zona?"

"When I told you, you said that you were right. How did you know?"

The other blonde seemed to understand what Arizona was talking about. He thought carefully about his words, and then he opened his mouth and began to talk.

"When we were growing up, you were always one of the guys. Every town we lived in, you were one of them. I remember, when we were fourteen, I tried to make you go to the movies alone with Joshua. And you finally did because I kept begging. When his mom dropped you off, he tried to kiss you. You shoved him away and ran for it! Not only was that hilarious, but that was when I started thinking you might like ladies too." Timothy had his signature grin on his face, reminiscing some of the good times he and his sister shared.

"I thought I was always subtle about it…" Arizona trailed off, looking back off into the sunset.

"You weren't, trust me… But let me ask you, how did you know?"

"I don't know how to explain it. It's just this feeling I had. When I turned twelve and all of my friends at the time were saying who the hottest guy celebrity was when I was thinking that the women were the ones who were hot. I just never felt attracted to boys. And I know I should, but I just don't."

"You shouldn't be attracted to boys. They have cooties," Tim teased his sister, causing her to put a smile on her face.

"Don't ever grow up and become mature, okay? I think I would hate you too much."

Arizona looked over, and suddenly her brother wasn't beside her. And suddenly, she was in the water, flailing around. She looked up to see her brother laughing his ass off, and she growled. Pushing herself up at the pier, she lifted herself out of the water.

A dangerous look was on her face as she stalked towards Timothy. An evil glint could be spotted in her eyes. Arizona approached her brother swiftly, and before he knew it, he was being hit on the arm as he fell into the water.

"Timothy Robbins, I swear to god if you ever do that again I'll kill you!"

As soon as Arizona let him go, Timothy swam backwards and then splashed as hard as he could at the blonde. "C'mon, Arizona! Why won't you let me have some fun?" The younger boy pouted at her, giving him the best sad little eyes he could.

* * *

"_You guys would have loved Timothy. He managed to put a smile on my face no matter what was going on between us, and there's no doubt in my mind he would have been the best babysitter you kids could have had while you grew up." Arizona grinned at her children, a tear running down the side of her face. All of them gave her a reassuring smile, and her only girl spoke up._

"_Mom, keep telling us the story! We want to know how you met mami!" Arizona wiped the tear away, and continued on with her long story._

* * *

Arizona and Timothy spent a good hour fighting in the water, but the reality of it all soon hit them. As the sun almost finished setting, they had to hurry home if they wanted to make dinner in time. Leaping out of the water, the two threw their shoes on quickly and ran for Tim's car.

"You're gonna make us late with what you did!" Arizona grumbled at her brother. "And now your car is going to be soaking wet, and when it starts smelling once it dries, I am under no circumstances helping you clean the stench out." She stuck her tongue out as she placed the seatbelt on herself. Timothy leaned over from his seat in his car, and shook the wet mess that was his hair onto her.

"Enjoy that," he stated. Smirking, he put his car into drive and headed for the journey home.

Arizona's alarm clock sounded at six in the morning as it did every day. Today was Saturday, and even though it was a weekend day, she still did her same daily activities. Turning off her alarm, she began her daily routine.

By the time she finished her morningly PT with her father, and as of late her brother, she was pumped and ready to go. She elicited a content sound as she stared at her brother.

"Timothy," she began, "let's do something. Something fun, something exciting!" Her brother glanced at her.

"Some of the guys are going to play baseball in a few hours. Said I could come… You can come too."

Arizona mulled this over in her head, and she finally nodded with a grin on her face. "I'd be delighted to come kick your friends' asses."

"Someone's cocky," he stated, winking at his sister.

"Ugh, you are so awful."

* * *

Hours later, Arizona and Timothy were pulling up to the baseball field at the high school. They strolled out, each donning a glove and a Gatorade. Arizona wore a baseball cap on her head, her hair pulled back in a rough bun beneath it.

The other guys were warming up, tossing the ball from first to third and back to the pitcher. Arizona didn't necessarily play baseball, or even softball for that matter, but she had learned a few things growing up. She knew how to pitch, play first baseman, and even catch. That wasn't saying she was any good, but it was saying she knew at least something about the sport.

Most of the guys on the field were wearing typical baseball uniforms. They had the special fast pitch pants that their travel- and perhaps school- teams required. However, the one thing that many of them did not have on were the special baseball shirts. The ones that were cut V-neck, made of light, frothy material so that they'd be comfortable playing the game.

Arizona, on the other hand, was dressed in a pair of basketball shorts and a tank top. Placing her glove on her hand as she entered the diamond, she stated, "Ready to play some ball?"

She moved towards where her brother had walked, only to overhear something she shouldn't have.

"Why did you bring her? She's a girl, Tim!" John Putzy, one of Tim's friends, hissed at her twin. Timothy opened his mouth to say something, but Arizona stepped forward and raised a hand at him.

"I may be a girl, but that doesn't mean I can't do the things you can. It does not mean that I'm not as physically capable of hitting a little ball and running around. It does not mean that I can't throw a ball just as well as you. I may not be the fastest here, the strongest, or even the best looking, but that damn sure is not because I am a female. So, John, I'm going to ask you this. Are you fucking ready to have your ass handed to you by a girl?"

John said nothing. He only shot a glare at Timothy and then one right at Arizona. The twins allowed him to walk away. He signaled for the other boys to come, creating a large circle. Arizona and Timothy quickly joined.

"I'll be a team captain," he stated, "and so will Arizona." Arizona stepped forward, a dull look on her face. "Ladies first."

Soon the teams were picked, and positions chosen. Arizona would start off playing first for her team, and if needed switch to catcher. They would be batting first, and they had decided to put her third in the lineup. She knew this would be an intense game right from the moment John picked her to be team captain.

* * *

And she was right. Bottom of the sixth, two outs. The lineup had started itself over and somehow the last, first, and second hitters managed to get on base. It was Arizona's turn. If she hit this and didn't fuck it up, they'd gain four runs. If she fucked it up, well, they'd get maybe one run out of it. The score was three to four- John's team in the lead. She needed this. She needed this to prove to him that being female didn't mean you were incapable of the same things of a man.

Arizona stepped up to the plate, bat in hand. The first pitch she let slide by her. It was a strike. The second pitch, a curve ball, turned out to be just that- a ball. The third pitch, she decided to swing. Foul ball. She silently cursed at herself.

"I have to do this," she whispered. She stepped away from the plate, signaling she needed a moment. Even though her brother was on the opposing team, she knew that secretly he was rooting for her. He was looking at her, a hopeful look on his face. That was all it took.

She stepped back up to the plate, a confident look on her face. She knew it was all or nothing on this pitch. With one glance at Timothy before the pitcher threw the ball, she leveled the bat and prepared herself.

It went flying through the air, the ball did. It soared across the sky. She hadn't ever run faster in her life. Hell, she knew she didn't technically have to sprint the bases, but the happiness and proud feeling inside of her burst out and caused her to run.

As she passed second base, where Timothy was, she slowed down her run and shouted, "Take that Timothy! Kicking your ass just like I said I would!" All he did was laugh and smile proudly as she finished her run around home base.

The last inning (they had all decided only seven innings would be appropriate, considering they weren't all ball players at the school or on travel teams) went nothing like the previous ones. John's team seemed to be too shocked to do anything productive, so it caused Arizona's team to have easy outs and once again be at the plate.

Apparently her team was also too shocked to do anything good, because three outs seemed to come in only a matter of seconds. But Arizona wasn't complaining, because she was happy. She had truly kicked some ass today.

As she and Timothy prepared to leave, John came up to her.

"I'm sorry for being so rude earlier. I was out of line, and I'm sorry."

"No hard feelings. Especially considering a girl just kicked your ass." She shot him a sly grin, and continued walking to her car. Timothy reached over and patted John on the shoulder before he, too, walked towards Arizona's car.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of Arizona's persistent gloating. Every chance she got she would make fun of her brother because his team had lost. It soon got old, and Arizona knew it. By the time they began eating their dinner, she had given up bothering Tim. And soon, that day ended, and was replaced with another.

* * *

But all too soon did that day end as well, and Arizona found herself walking to her first block class that Monday morning. Her classes were cut slightly short for an assembly for the senior class. She had a suspicion about what it was for, but wasn't too sure.

Due to the fact her classes were short, she basically had half a day of no class. The assembly was only meant for thirty minutes to an hour long, which meant that there was anywhere from two hours to an hour and a half of free time left. And if her assumptions were correct- she knew just what most of the seniors would be doing during that time.

As her fourth block teacher wrapped up the lesson, she heard the announcement come on the loudspeaker. "All seniors report to the auditorium, all seniors report to the auditorium." Everyone in her class stood up, and walked out of the room and trekked to the auditorium.

Arizona quickly found her brother in the mass of students, and claimed a seat next to him. They chit-chatted away as they waited for the rest of their senior class to fill into the confined space.

There was a noise from the stage. Suddenly everyone went dead silent. Arizona and Timothy turned their attention to the front, falling into the silence as well.

"I am not here to force you to do anything. I am not here to scare you. I am simply here to present you with information." A strict, yet warm voice spoke out.

Arizona's suspicions had indeed been correct- a marine was coming to speak with her school about the reserve program. Growing up as an army brat, she had learned a few things about it, but her father hadn't ever gone into detail about it.

It had always been on Arizona's mind, what she would do when this opportunity arose. She knew if she signed up for the reserve program, her father would be one of two things; he would be extremely pissed off at her and possibly disown her, or he would be happy for her and the fact she was who he raised her to be- a patriotic citizen.

She knew Timothy would at least meet with the recruiter. He would go as soon as he finished speaking and have a private chat with him. Arizona, on the other hand, was on the fence. She wasn't really even listening as he spoke. She was just contemplating in her mind what she would do.

As she expected, the moment he finished talking and the seniors were released, Timothy flew out of the auditorium seat and up to the stage to talk to the recruiter.

* * *

_Arizona stared towards her children with a dazed look on her face. Her wife placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, and another on the small of her back. She pressed her lips to her cheek, and whispered, "Go on, honey." _

_It took a moment for Arizona to continue, only choosing to do so because of the strength placed in her by Calliope. _

* * *

Arizona sat for a while, contemplating. She didn't move. She just sat in her uncomfortable auditorium chair. She stared forward, where Timothy had once been with the recruiter, and where he no longer was.

Most everyone had filed out of the room by now, only teachers and adults remained. She kept sitting, wondering, thinking. She whispered quietly to herself,

"Do I or do I not?"

She jumped, feeling a hand on her shoulder.

"Ma'am, I believe it's time that you leave. All of the other seniors have left." Arizona numbly nodded, and stood. She turned to face the man who had dismissed her.

"Sorry, sir. Won't happen again, sir." She curtly nodded again, and walked through the row and out of the auditorium doors. Somehow, in the short time she had stayed sitting, a sign had been put up that read: "Marine Recruiter Sergeant Goft, Room 278".

Arizona stared at the sign. She didn't know how long she stared, but she stared for a good long time. Until finally, her legs started moving. She found herself walking in the direction of Room 278.

She stood outside of the door, pacing back and forth for a few moments. She muttered to herself, "It can't do any harm to go in and chat…" and Arizona soon found herself standing promptly out front of the door, her hand raised in a fist, prepared to knock.

* * *

**A/N; So of course I had to cut it off there. Is she going to go in and talk with Sergeant Goft? Or is she going to stop herself, turn around, and find Timothy? Guess you must wait and see. Please do review, it means a lot to hear positive or negative feedback.  
**

**Before I forget, I want to give a special thanks to BuyMeLiliesWhenImSad. This author is basically the reason this chapter happened the way it did, and so I wanted to give a special thanks. So, thanks.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N; I am so sorry I didn't get this up until sooner. I'd planned for the update today to have been the fifth or sixth chapter… Got a bit behind schedule, didn't I? I also regret to inform you that there will be a long wait for chapter 5 now, because tomorrow evening (either that or Sunday morning at 6 AM) I will be leaving to visit my grandparents. They have dial-up internet… So even if I finish chapter 5, and perhaps even 6, you guys won't get an update until probably the 20****th****. I am so so so so sorry about this! I'm going to try my hardest to finish chapter 5 today and edit it and perfect it so I can post it this evening after chapter 4, or tomorrow before I leave for family time.**

**I have a good feeling about this chapter. It's weird. I just have a good feeling. Saying that, this probably will be the worst chapter I've written to date. **

**I'm just going to hope for the best. **

**Enjoy, please.**

* * *

_Arizona grinned at her wife. Their children were all gone for the day and it was somehow both of their days off from work. They both needed it- that was for sure. _

_The blonde placed her elbow on her pillow, staring at her wife with a longing gaze. The brunette leaned up and placed a sweet, innocent kiss on Arizona's lips. _

"_I love you," Arizona whispered, breaking the silence in the room. Callie didn't respond. Instead, she leaned in for yet another kiss. The blonde didn't need an answer from her wife to know that she loved her as well. The kiss was an answer enough. _

_She returned the favor, providing more passion. Their lips seemed to do a dance, each kiss providing a battle of dominance between the two women. Things were getting pretty heated, and Arizona took that opportunity to reach her hands up and pull off Callie's shirt. Taking it even further, she unclasped her wife's bra. Her hands began to roam, their tongues intertwining and twirling in a magical way. _

_A persistent beeping broke them from their intimacy. The two women groaned, and Arizona picked up the pager._

"_It's yours." _

* * *

Arizona walked towards her car, sliding into the driver's seat with ease. She placed her keys in the ignition, and drove off towards her home.

When she arrived, Timothy was already there, all giddy and excited. She knew then that the meeting with the recruiter must have gone extremely well. And sadly, she didn't like that at all. She put on a dimpled smile for her brother, supporting him in every way that she could.

The next few weeks, and even months, were very awkward and weird to Arizona. Her brother kept talking about how he was going to do the reserve program. Arizona constantly would try and change the topic, but he never let up.

Arizona never gave any kind of hint of whether or not she'd gone into that classroom and had a nice chat with the recruiter or not. She hadn't said a word about it. There soon was not much time left for Arizona's father, Colonel Daniel Robbins, to wonder. Arizona and Timothy were going to be graduating very soon, and he was insistent upon knowing.

One morning after Arizona's PT, he pulled her aside.

"Arizona Robbins, you will be doing as I ask today."

"Yes sir."

"Prepare yourself to go out. Nothing fancy, but nothing trashy. Casual, if you will."

"Yes sir. When shall I report back to you?"

"Eleven."

The blonde was somewhat surprised her father didn't answer in military hours, but she nodded, saluted, and dismissed herself for the day her father had planned.

At the time her father stated, she was ready to leave. He already had his car out of their garage, waiting for her to get in. As she buckled her seat belt, Arizona glanced at her father.

"Sir, may I ask where we are going?"

"We are going to lunch, and the rest you shall see when we get to it."

"Thank you, sir." Arizona was always one for her manners when it came to her parents. She knew not to fool around with them. Her father was for sure the mean one of her parents. He was strict and not so much overbearing, just harsh at times.

Her mother, Barbara Robbins was a complete different story. She was kind and generous on the outside looking in, and rarely ever raised her voice. But when she did raise it? There was a whole hell of a storm that came with that.

When it came to being disrespectful or not using manners, however, either of her parents gave Arizona or Timothy a damn good yelling. Not to mention the extra PT when they got up in the mornings.

Pulled out of her thoughts, Arizona noticed that the car had stopped. Her father was staring at her, waiting for her to get out of it. Arizona blushed and quickly rushed out of the vehicle, murmuring her "I'm sorrys" to him.

Daniel shrugged it off, not seeming to care much, but mostly wondering what had his daughter so out of it. His first thought was that she'd met someone, and if that was the case, he would have to meet this handsome boy that's got his daughter so wound up.

The two entered the restaurant and were given a table. The blonde female browsed the menu, searching for her favorite drink.

A brunette woman came over to their table and pulled out her order pad.

"Hi! I am Joanne; I'll be your server for today. What can I get you to drink?"

"I will have water, please," her father stated, not taking his eyes off of the menu.

"I would like ice tea," chimed Arizona, glancing up at the face of her waitress.

"Alright! I'll have that right out to you guys."

Arizona's eyes skimmed the menu, heading straight to their pasta dishes. Her eyes lit up as she saw a dish that intrigued her. It was a chicken and prosciutto pasta dish that came with garlic bread as a side.

She placed her menu down, and glanced at her father. His was neatly folded on the table, and he was staring straight ahead at her.

"Ah, Arizona. Have you decided?"

"Yes sir, I have. Chicken and prosciutto pasta," she answered, "what about you?"

"I'll be having a rib-eye steak, medium rare."

"That sounds delicious."

She and her father continued in polite small talk, and suddenly their drinks were in front of them and Joanne was taking their orders.

"What can I get you today? Any appetizers?"

"No thank you," her father answered for them. "I'll have the ten ounce rib-eye."

"And how would you like that prepared, sir?"

"Medium-rare."

"And for you, ma'am?" Something about the way this Joanne girl said "ma'am" made Arizona want to grin, but she refrained from doing just that.

"I'll have the chicken and prosciutto pasta, please."

"Coming right up!" This Joanne girl was a bit perky, but Arizona kind of liked it. She, too, was perky. Perky was good, was it not?

The blonde began to get lost in her thoughts, not realizing her father was trying to speak to her.

"Arizona Robbins!" Snapped from her own mind, Arizona murmured the words of, "I'm sorry" to her father.

"So, Arizona, what are your plans for college?"

"I was intending to go to John-Hopkins, maybe. Perhaps there for undergrad and medical school as well. I want to become a surgeon."

Arizona and her father never really talked about these things. It just wasn't something they did. That meant the blonde was very wary about what her father was trying to do.

"That sounds like a wonderful plan. I believe Timothy mentioned to me he signed up for that Reserve program, but was planning on going to undergraduate school and possibly medical school as well until he was needed."

Arizona nodded. "Yes sir, those are his plans."

Their plates soon arrived and they began eating away in silence. Their lunch was finished as quickly as it had started, and they were packed up back into her father's car, driving wherever he was intending to go next.

She found herself at the pier with her father. Somehow, it was different than the time she'd been there with Timothy. It felt… strange. When they parked the car, her father pulled out two fishing rods. That was all it took to get the blonde to sigh and press her hand to her face. What had she gotten herself into?

* * *

"Sir, you know I can't fish, right?" Arizona asked as she sat down on the edge of the wooden dock.

"I'd say it is about time you learn." Daniel handed his daughter a rod, and showed her how to bait it. The blonde had no problem touching the worms that she had to stick on the hook, in fact, she loved it.

"If you feel a pull that most likely means you've caught something," the man paused, "so you must rotate the handle to reel it in. Don't be afraid to pull and use your Robbins strength on it."

Arizona chuckled and smiled, "Alright, sir."

She and her father sat in silence. This was as good as bonding with her family got- you sat in silence and enjoyed the time together.

What felt like hours passed the two of them by and the sun was getting lower and lower in the sky. Her father had gotten a few bites, and managed to snag a few fish. He'd thrown them all back into the water, claiming they just weren't what he was looking for. She knew, however, that he just didn't have the heart to let the poor animals die.

As she stared into space, she suddenly felt something moving. Something was pulling. She began pulling harder on her end of the stick, rotating the handle as her father had instructed previously.

Arizona pulled the rod until she finally saw a fish hanging on the other end. She was giddy. She was purely high on excitement.

"I got one sir!" She yelped in happiness, grinning like an absolute fool. Who knew fishing could excite her that much?

"Very nice, Arizona. You can throw that one back in the water… it's too small." The voice of her father broke her happiness, and she huffed out air.

"Do I have to, sir? I'd like to keep it!"

"Arizona, you and I both know very well that you can't keep that as a pet. And we also both know very well that your mother wouldn't be happy at all if you brought it home."

"Okay, sir. I'll throw it back." She sighed, and pulled the fish from the lake water and unhooked its mouth. "Here you go, little fishy," she murmured as she gently placed it back in the water.

* * *

"_Telling my father I was a lesbian was one of the most terrifying experiences of my life," Arizona began, staring at her children, "so if any of you have anything to say I really hope you do it soon." _

_The blonde heard a laugh coming from the door way. Her beautiful wife, Calliope Robbins-Torres was standing at the door._

_Arizona motioned for her to come over, and so she did. She took a seat next to the blonde, whom turned and placed a lingering kiss on Calliope's lips. _

"_I love you," she whispered. _

"_And I love you."_

* * *

Arizona continued to fish with her father, getting a few more bites but nothing very promising for the rest of the day. She laid her fishing pole down beside her, and stood up. She walked along the deck, breathing in and out quietly.

"Arizona, what are you doing?"

The blonde breathed for a few moments longer, and then answered her father. "Sir, I have something I need to tell you."

"Alright, go ahead and tell me then."

She stared into the now fast approaching sunset. Her lips parted, and she spoke the words that were on her mind.

"I am a lesbian." She was prepared for her father to scream, to yell, and to demand she get out of his house. But she got silence. She got nothing from him.

Minutes passed, and there was still silence. Until her father finally uttered, "I have one question."

Arizona was expecting "how fast can you get the hell out of my house?" but that didn't seem to be what her father had in mind.

"Are you who I raised you to be?" Arizona breathed out in confusion. Was she who he raised her to be? She glanced towards the sky, closed her eyes, and sighed. That was definitely an easy question on the surface, but deep down it was the hardest question she had ever been asked.

"Am I who you raised me to be? Yes I am, sir. I am a good man in the storm. I care about the things and people I love. I will protect the things and people I love no matter what. I am a good man in the storm."

"Then that is no problem for me, Arizona." Arizona was dumbfounded. Her father, the military marine macho guy was perfectly okay with her being a lesbian? This was certainly a huge shock to her. She wasn't expecting this at all. In fact, she'd been prepared to have to call Timothy and have him help her find a place to live until she graduated.

A lopsided grin formed on her lips, dimples showing. "Thank you, sir."

"There is no need to thank me."

Arizona nodded, looking at her surroundings. The lake was reflecting the sunset, turning the water from the luscious blue to a purplish shade. The trees were bright in green, the leaves seeming to grow darker as the sun set further. She loved this place… It was perfect.

"I signed up for the Marines Reserve program."

"Arizona?"

"I signed up for the Marines Reserve program, sir."

"Why would you have done such a thing?" Her father's tone wasn't angry, but it wasn't pleased either. He was genuinely confused as to why his only daughter wanted to join the Marines.

"I am a good man in the storm, Colonel," she began, "and when I talked with the recruiter, I managed to work out a deal with him. I am allowed to go to college and medical school, and begin my surgical residency. After I've completed my residency, if I am needed, I will be drafted into the Marines."

"You want to be a surgeon for the Marines, Arizona?"

"Yes sir."

"Are you sure about this? I can get them to take your name off of the list."

"I don't wish to be disrespectful, sir, but I am one hundred percent positive about this decision."

"My two children are going into the Marines…" Daniel Robbins stood up from his sitting position, picked up both fishing rods, and sighed. "I won't stop you. You are doing an honorable thing."

"Thank you, sir."

The two headed to their house, riding in silence. Arizona felt like this day couldn't get more perfect. However, she still had to tell her mother, and if she had the reaction her father had… Well that might just be considered more perfect.

As they pulled into the driveway of their house, Arizona broke the calming silence between them.  
"May I tell Timothy and our mother on my own time about the Marines Reserve program?"

"Of course, Arizona. I won't rush you."

The blonde was head over heels with the way her father was reacting about everything. It seemed too good to be true.

* * *

Soon she was inside of her house, scouring around for her mother. She didn't want to outright yell mom, but she didn't know what else to do at this point. She couldn't find her where she usually was, and didn't really know where else she'd be. Her car had been in the driveway, so that was a good sign that she was still there in the house.

"Mom!" Arizona called out, turning her head as she heard a soft "yes dear" from another part of the house. She walked calmly up the stairs, and called out once again, "Mom!" receiving a closer response this time. It was coming from Tim's room.

She walked to the door, opened it, and said, "Mom, I need to talk with you."

"Well go on dear."

"…In private."

"Whatever you need to say can be said in front of your brother, Arizona." The blonde mentally groaned. Her brother would get to see her be humiliated when her mother yelled at her.

"Alright, mom…" She muttered, before gaining the courage she'd had on the pier. "I'm a lesbian."

Timothy had a wide grin on his face, dimples showing. He was proud of his sister because she'd finally bucked up and told them.

"It's about time," Barbara Robbins stated, looking at her daughter. "I thought you'd never admit it."

"What! You knew?" Arizona was in shock, confusion and surprise clearly written on her face.

"Well of course, dear. A mother always knows these things." Barbara said in a know-it-all tone.

"But… I… how… Timothy!" She reached over and hit her brother on the arm. "You told, didn't you?"

"He did no such thing," her mother responded. Timothy smirked at his sister as his mother began to reprimand her. "Don't you hit your brother. At least while I'm in the room. Do your worst once I'm gone."

Arizona burst into light laughter, grinning. "I love you, mom. And dad, too. And unfortunately, I have to love this one over here," she broke off, to point to Timothy with her thumb.

Barbara Robbins merely laughed, before she stood and walked out of Timothy's bedroom. "Behave you two," she simply stated as she exited.

Arizona and Timothy sat and chatted for a while, before she left to go to her own room and sleep the rest of the evening away.

* * *

The next morning as she finished PT, she asked her brother to come out to the pier with her that afternoon. He'd agreed, and the two parted ways as they usually did.

After Arizona showered, she went to tell her mother about the Marines Reserve program. As she sat down at the breakfast table with her mother and father, she began to speak.

"Mom, I signed up for the Marines Reserve program like Tim did."

"I already knew, Arizona."

"Mother's intuition?" Arizona asked, grunting in complaint.

"No, your father told me last night." The blonde's eyes became daggers as she looked at her father. Barbara chuckled at her daughter.

"You promised me you'd let me tell, sir!"

"I didn't expect you to actually man up and do it. Sorry, dear." He had a grin on his face as he responded to her. Arizona pouted momentarily before she stood and fixed herself a plate of bacon and eggs.

"Thank you for breakfast, mom."

"It's no trouble, honey."

The rest of her morning passed by in silence, and soon the afternoon came. That meant it was finally time to pass the news on- if her father hadn't already- to Timothy.

* * *

She had asked the Colonel to borrow his fishing poles, and he'd helped load the gear into her car. When she met her brother, she told him she was driving. He muttered something about her being a horrible driver, but made no formal complaints to her face.

The drive consisted of them listening to music on the radio and singing along horribly. They often tried to see who could make their voice sound the worst. Usually Timothy won, but somehow on their way to the pier, Arizona had.

When she got out of the car and unloaded the fishing gear, Timothy shot her a confused look.

"You don't know how to fish, 'Zona." He stated, staring at her in confusion still.

"Dad taught me yesterday. Said it was about time I learn." He nodded, and shrugged.

"Let's see how good you are, then." He helped her carry the bait and a rod down to the pier. They sat down at the edge, and baited their hooks. Casting out into the water, the twins sat in a comfortable silence.

* * *

Arizona had gotten a bite or two soon after, but nothing promising. In the dim silence, she heard something cutting through the water and pulling on her hook. She grinned.

Timothy, too, got a bite. The two were soon pulling harder and harder with each passing second, but neither could seem to pull on whatever it was that they'd each caught. Arizona decided to give it the hardest tug she could, and when she did so, she found her brother in the water.

She couldn't help but snicker. "Of course I caught you."

"More like I caught you…" He muttered, glaring at her.

"Who's the one in the water?" She spoke way too soon. The cool feel of the water soothed her skin as she was dragged in and under.

"That's a bit of an invalid question, dear sister of mine." The two unhooked their fishing poles, and placed them nicely on the wooden pier before taking off in all sorts of swimming races or diving challenges.

The sun was almost gone from the sky by the time Arizona and Timothy finally quit trying to beat each other by racing back and forth.

* * *

"Tim, I need to tell you something," Arizona said as she hopped back up onto the pier to sit. He mimicked her action and sat right beside her.

"Go ahead, sis."

"I signed up for the Marines Reserve program."

"Awesome! We can be kickass Marines together! I can see it now, Robbins and Robbins- the Dynamic Duo!" She let out a soft laugh, smiling at her brother. He was a goofball.

"I managed to get the recruiter to allow me to go to med school and then do a surgical residency until I'm needed."

"That's kind of funny, I tried to convince the recruiter to do basically the same thing for me. Except I don't know if I'll go to any other schooling after plain old college, or if I'll just go and enlist after college, and basically say screw the reserve program…"

"I don't know if I could handle you being a medical student with me... And then a surgical resident, too. Think we'd stir up too much trouble."

"I'm all game for it, then, sis."

Arizona laughed and leaned her head on his shoulder. "You're the greatest brother ever. You know that, right?"

"Well of course. And you're the greatest sister ever."

"Already knew that, Tim."

The two Robbins children were soon packed tightly into Arizona's car, driving off into the night. When they arrived home, soaking wet, their mother simply shook her head and muttered, "Only my children show up at nine o'clock, an hour away from breaking curfew, soaking wet."

* * *

_Arizona stared ahead at her children. _

"_You never really told us if you went into the recruiter's room or not, mom."_

"_Well of course I did! I did sign up for the Reserve program, didn't I?" _

"_Okay, okay. Get back to the story!"_

* * *

A few more months passed. It was the day. The big day. The biggest day Arizona had experienced so far. Today was her high school graduation.

She was excited about walking across that stage. Mostly because she knew that once she did, she would begin the rest of her life. She would officially be a student of the John-Hopkins University. And best of all? Her best friend, her brother, would be joining her.

After talking things over with their parents- and of course the damn recruiter- Arizona and Timothy decided to try and go to medical school together. That way, they'd have more surgeons in the field if a war broke out. The recruiter wasn't necessarily happy about letting Timothy do what his sister was doing, but after a nice talking to by Colonel Daniel Robbins he was perfectly fine with it.

Arizona and her brother showed up right on time for graduation. They were in their blue and gold cap and gowns. They had somehow managed to get the right to graduate with highest honors- meaning they were part of the smartest minds at their school. They wore a special tie around their gowns, signifying the highest honors thing.

Soon after they had arrived, they were standing on the edge of the stage, waiting for their names to be called. Blood was pounding in Arizona's ears. She was excited. Today was the big day. The biggest day of her life so far.

"Arizona Marie Robbins."

She froze. Her name? Timothy seemed to sense her freezing, and shoved her forward. The blonde began to walk. She stopped and shook the hands of all of the adults on stage as she was supposed to. She received her diploma, and walked off stage. She had the widest dimpliest grin on her face.

"Timothy Daniel Robbins."

Her brother walked across the stage, clearly needing no push from anyone behind him. He proudly accepted his diploma, and proudly walked back to his seat among the others graduating.

Today was their day.

"And now, it is my pleasure to say… Congratulations class of 2003!" What seemed like thousands of caps flew into the air, and there was mass chaos. Everyone broke into joyous yells, boyfriends and girlfriends kissed, friends hugged excitedly. It was the biggest day of her life.

And she absolutely loved it and everything it represented.

* * *

**A/N; How's that for a chapter? **

**I want to say I really have no idea what year Arizona would have actually graduated high school in… I just made her, in my mind, be born in 1986, so she would graduate in 2003. I'm pretty sure that isn't the correct time lining but oh well. I like it. **

**Anyways, so sorry for the late update again! But I promise, it was worth the wait… I hope.**

**Also, this story has a multitude of songs that inspire it, one of them being Into The Fire by Thirteen Senses (it was in the very first episode of Grey's Anatomy, for those of you who didn't know that). The others may be mentioned throughout the story, like as a favorite song of Arizona's throughout her first year of college or something... Not quite sure, just yet, but I want to try and incorporate them into the story somehow since they fuel my inspiration and mind for this story.  
**


	5. Author's Note

**A/N; Okay… I swore to myself (mentally) that I wouldn't ever do this to my limited number of readers. Yet here I am doing it… **

**I'm sorry I haven't updated yet- and I'm also sorry that I kindasortalied in the last chapter's A/N. I said I was visiting family Sunday (as in the one that just happened) but turns out I'm not leaving until Tuesday (tomorrow). That being said, I'm trying my hardest and working my ass to death to finish chapter 5 tonight to have it up before tomorrow. If I don't, it won't be up until NEXT Tuesday. And I'd seriously hate to make you guys wait extra time. ..so consider, if I get chapter 5 posted, this a gift. **

**This is just a side note. I suppose it isn't too major… I'm very disappointed in the lack of reviews for chapter 4. I worked my ass off to give you guys the longest chapter yet (I realize it isn't much of an accomplishment, it's only 4 chapters in so far) and how many reviews did I get? Zero. Yes, I got maybe 3-6 follows on the story but still. I like reviews. It makes me happy to know that the people that read like it or have questions or want to discuss it because it's interesting enough.**

**I don't want it to come down to it and I don't want it to seem like I'm threatening anything, but if this keeps happening I may just delete the story. That being said, I'm not asking for a billion reviews, just two or three. Is that too much to ask? I know you guys have the ability to do it. So, please? For me? And if not for me, for the sake of the story? **

**Once again, I'm very sorry that I haven't updated and that there's a chance I won't be able to update for over a week. I will do my best to get you guys a chapter tonight! Wish me luck!**


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N; I'm trying very hard to do this chapter very quickly, because the last few updates haven't been very quick. Because I'm rushing, I'm sure this chapter will contain a lot of mistakes or mess-ups, and it's no excuse, but eh. I can't guarantee this will be a long a chapter as 4 was, but it'll be a semi-good one. Sorry if it disappoints. **

**Just a quick note before I start this chapter… I am by no means an expert on military stuff like basic training… So anything in this chapter that seems a bit weird, sorry. I get all my knowledge from the made up stuff in my mind, aka my imagination. That being said, pleaaaaase don't criticize me for any inaccurate information. **

* * *

Arizona and Tim had a week of basic training left before college started. They had to go to multiple mandatory basic training camps and disciplinary camps over their summer and they were finally almost done. They just had one more week during the summer, and they could go to John-Hopkins together.

While she was at basic training, Arizona had met many people. Timothy and her had befriended quite a few of their superiors, which somehow equated to them having to do more work. It really didn't make sense, because generally sucking up meant less. However, the two blondes did not complain and did the required physical labor.

The "don't-ask-don't-tell" act had been in order for a few years now, so Arizona new not to whisper a word about her sexuality to anyone. Especially not to her superior friends.

When they weren't on the military's training campground's she and Tim often joked about the "don't-ask-don't-tell" policy. But now that they were back for one more week of mandatory training, their lips were sealed.

The days in the training camps were spent well. Up before the crack of dawn, down hours after the sun had set. They didn't run on very much sleep, but they sure ran damn well. In the early hours of the morning they did purely physical work. They ran for long hours, trying to build up almost impossible stamina. And on the mornings they didn't run, they did push-up after push-up and pull-up after pull-up, until their arms were noodles. One day, Timothy had made the comment, "It's like they're training us for war!" Only to have, seconds later, him say, "Oh wait… They are!"

This caused Arizona and Timothy fits of giggles, which caused their whole group to have to run more. And do more push-ups. And run the obstacle courses more times.

It wasn't a stretch to say they were the most light hearted of the bunch that were at this camp. Arizona had found that most all of the women had joined on their own choice but most of the men had joined because their fathers had pushed them to do so or it was some family tradition and they didn't want to be the one to break it.

The women and men of this camp were all unique in their own ways, and somehow that made Arizona smile every time she thought of them.

* * *

Arizona broke from her thoughts when the morning wake-up call sounded. She had already been awake, unable to sleep. It was partially due to excitement. Arizona was excited that she only had a short period of time left in this camp. She was excited to begin college. She was excited to feel free for the first time in her life.

She slid quickly out of her bunk, neatly made her bed, and stood at the end of it. Her arms were by her side; her blonde hair pulled neatly back, her feet and legs together, and her feet facing at a slight angle.

As stereotypical as it seemed, those in charge or higher rank called the basic trainees maggots, cadets, or nothing at all.

After Lieutenant Jefferies scoured the bunks and the cadets, she yelled out, "Alright maggots, come with me."

In the previous weeks of their training, they had worked on physical combat, how to shoot a rifle, basic survival skills, and many other things that would prepare them for war.

Today, it seemed, after their morning warm-up PT, they would be revisiting the idea of swimming. In their first week of swimming, four cadets had dropped out of the program. Originally, there had been fifty-two females and sixty-eight males. There now were thirty females and forty-four males. The numbers had declined slowly and slowly each time. And now was their week to make it or break it.

After they finished this week, they'd all graduate from basic training. Theoretically, they could all then become recruits. However, because Arizona and Timothy had signed up for the reserve program, they'd come back during the winter, spring, and again for the summer. It was a crazy schedule, but Arizona had grown to appreciate it.

The blonde female wasn't self-conscious. She was proud of herself and her looks. She generally had no problem swimming as she'd grown up. However, being surrounded by attractive females in the tight swim-wear the program provided? She felt intimidated and aroused.

The way the swimming drills worked was simple. For two hours they ran drills in only the basic swimwear, which for females was either a one-piece or a two-piece. For males, it was a speedo. Most females chose the bikini, a fact in which Arizona loathed. After the basic swimwear drills, they changed into the typical gear of a marine. They spent three hours drilling in the gear, preparing and challenging the cadets in multiple ways.

After their swimming tasks, they were all rounded up and Lt. Jefferies began speaking to the crowd of cadets.

"After tomorrow you cadets will be shipped off to a secret location. Yes, there will be water. No, you will not have luxury food. No, there will not be a hotel. Yes, you will have to use your survival skills and everything you learned here to survive for the rest of the basic training week. No, I do not care if you don't want to do it. You will learn to get over it or else you will not graduate from basic training. Am I understood?"

"Yes ma'am," the cadets spoke in unison, breaking into a formal set of saluting and proper addressing.

* * *

When the cadets had finished their last day left technically on camp, most of them were anything but excited for this "camping" experience. Arizona, however, was thrilled. Due to the fact she rarely got to have contact with her brother in this camp, she was extremely happy about being able to flaunt her skills in front of him, as well as allow him to do the same.

The next morning, at the sound of wake-up call, all of the cadets were rounded up and blindfolded. They were not to know their location, how to get there, or anything that surrounded it. The goal of this exercise was to get them to survive in the wilderness and try and find their way back to the camp without anything but basic supplies.

The basic supplies included ten MREs (meals ready to eat), several packs of gauze, medical tape, a hunting knife, multiple canteens of water, and items to pitch a small tent with.

After they'd been dumped in the wilderness, the cadets were allowed to take their blindfolds off and begin their survival. Most decided they'd travel closer to the water to be closer to it if somehow they ran out of their water supplies. Arizona, whom had found her brother as soon as they'd arrived, had other plans. Timothy agreed with her that they should stay in the stable grounds in which they were already at for the night, and then begin their journey back to the camp.

The two also agreed they should combine their supplies and pitch their tents together, creating one larger tent rather than two smaller tents. In doing so, Arizona had to cut part of a branch with her hunting knife. Timothy, whom was standing and holding the branch steady, twitched in the slightest of ways.

That simple movement caused Arizona's hand to jut out, and the knife to scrape the closest thing. That thing happened to be her leg. As with all wounds due to a knife, there was no pain at first. It was the later reaction that hurt the most. As blood began to ooze out and meet the oxygen, Arizona hissed in pain.

"Timothy you fucking idiot!" She snarled at him, her eyes showing frustration. "Get some gauze and medical tape. NOW! And water to flush out the wound!"

The blonde male reached into their shared bag and pulled a canteen out, a pack of gauze, and one of the rolls of tape. He took the lid off the canteen and poured water on her leg quickly, opened the bag of gauze, and slammed the pads onto the cut as gently as he could. He then taped the gauze onto her skin.

"Shit, 'Zona, I'm sorry!" Tim snapped out of the "concerned soldier" act, and went into full on brother mode. "Are you okay? Does it hurt? I'm so sorry! It's all my fault! What if you're seriously hurt!"

"Shut up, Timothy! Right now you're making me hurt more with this pathetic sorry brother crap you've got going on." Arizona was a bit of a bitch when she was in pain. She exhaled as softly as possible, and stated, "Let's just relax. It isn't technically night just yet, although it's getting darker out. Let's calm down, and then finish this tent, and prepare ourselves to sleep. The earlier we fall, the earlier we rise, and the better chance we have of getting out of here quicker. The quicker we get out, the sooner my leg can get medical attention by a professional."

All Tim could do was nod.

* * *

The next morning the two were taking down their tent quickly and carefully, trying to bag it up so they could pitch it later on. Arizona was limping and walking slightly funny, which only added to Timothy's worries and guilt. He was partially thinking she was doing it just to make him feel worse, but wasn't entirely sure, so he didn't question her on it.

With the fact Arizona was now somewhat injured, it was harder for them to cover as much ground as they usually would.

Once she realized she was slowing herself and her brother down, she fought through the pain and suggested they run for a bit, maybe explore their surroundings.

Timothy wasn't so sure about it, especially with the way she was walking. "What if you get hurt because you're limping?"

"Tim, I'm surprised you haven't realized this by now! I was doing that just to make you feel bad." Arizona grinned, and stuck her tongue out. "I'm perfectly fine."

She set her leg down normally, and held a smile on her face as she ignored the pain that was shooting through her body. Arizona literally forced herself to run with her brother, hoping it would make up for the deadweight she'd been for the majority of their day.

He was faster than her, but she claimed that was only because of her injured leg. The truth was Tim was just faster in general.

After a while, Arizona got tired of the whole running thing, and they both agreed to take a break and split a MRE. They both knew if no one made it back by the time the week ended, they'd send scouts to come find the cadets. However, they were both as equally determined to be of the very exclusive few who ever returned without the scout escort on the very last day of basic training.

Tim decided it was time to continue on once they'd finished the MRE. Arizona walked slowly along with her twin, falling behind slightly. Tim noticed, but opted to say nothing about it.

* * *

By the time their third day in this wilderness arrived, Arizona had come to the conclusion it was absolute hell to navigate. She had also come to the conclusion that there was no way to get back to the camp without being driven. There was just no fucking way.

She pulled a canteen out of their bags, and sipped water. "Tim, this is impossible. Let's just give up and wait for them to come and retrieve us in a day or two." Arizona wasn't exactly certain of the number of days they'd be in this mess.

"No, 'Zona. I am not a quitter and neither are you. We are Robbins and damn it we are going to find that camp," he stated with a stern tone.

"Oh alright, _dad_." She teased, knowing it would irritate him.

They began their, what seemed now routine, trek along this foreign land. They seemed to fall into a comfortable silence, which was mostly fueled by the yearning for anything that seemed familiar or relative to the campsite.

Arizona suddenly stopped, letting out a slight whimper. She glanced down at her leg. The gauze was turning red meaning the incision site from her knife had busted open. Why it had busted was beyond her knowledge.

Tim had stopped walking when he noticed Arizona was no longer beside him. He turned on his heel around, to see his twin's leg bleeding and her staring at it in panic.

"Sit down, Arizona. Now." She did as she was told, not wasting any time. He slipped off the gauze, and glanced at the wound. It was infected, and had busted open because the infection had gotten so bad. All he could do was flush the wound with more water and reapply fresh gauze. He felt horrible, knowing he couldn't do anymore for his sister.

After he'd applied the new bandaging, Tim squatted down, and stated, "Get on my back, 'Zona. I'm going to carry you the rest of the way." Giving him a funny look, she shrugged, and managed to stand long enough to swing her legs around his waist and her arms firmly placed near his shoulders. He passed the bag to her as he stood, directing her to put it on her own back very carefully.

Arizona knew Tim couldn't do much more at this point, and he found it incredibly sweet that he was trying to help the way he knew best. She admired her brother for that. He, too, was a good man in the storm.

The two trekked on, Arizona on Tim's back and Tim carrying her and their supplies as far and as quickly as he could. It felt like hours before either of them realized they'd made progress.

They were both so tired that they didn't realize that they'd passed a sign that mentioned their basic training camp was just a few miles ahead. Timothy kept their walking steady, walking every bit of those three miles with his average excitement.

* * *

When he saw buildings, he let out a cry of joy.

"Arizona! We might just be here! How the hell did I miss signs and pointers saying we were almost here!"

Arizona, who was extremely tired and in extreme pain, muttered, "Probably missed them because you were too busy taking care of me."

He let out another, slightly quieter, cry of joy. He broke into a quicker movement, a terrible attempt at running. With his somewhat faster pace, he made it into the area with the buildings much earlier than he'd anticipated.

Arizona looked up from her position on Tim's back, and whispered, "Damn, Tim. You did it."

"No, 'Zona. We did it."

"I don't imagine I was much help, bro."

He simply laughed, and attempted to alter his pace once again. He sped up, making his strange run quicker. He realized that, yes indeed this was the basic training camp in which they'd previously been in.

As he carried his injured sister into the camp on his back, he couldn't have had a bigger grin on his face, dimples and all popping out.

"Welcome back, Arizona," he whispered as they stopped at the edge of the camp.

* * *

**A/N; This chapter was mostly Tim-centric… Sort of. I wrote a lot of his interactions with Arizona, mostly because this chapter was just a filler chapter. It's not all that important, but it may come into play later on in other chapters. **

**I chose not to add any Calzona future stuff in for two reasons.**

**1-I was trying to rush this chapter.**

**2- I wanted to make it somewhat Tim-centric.**

**I'm not sure how it turned out, considering it was rushed and somewhat different from all the other chapters, but I really hope everyone enjoyed it. Please, don't hesitate to review!  
**


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N; I am so deeply sorry it took so long to get this chapter done. I've been in and out of hospitals so much recently and strung out on god only knows how many medicines the doctors have prescribed. I didn't want to give a half-assed fuzzy headed written chapter, so I waited until I was among better health to finish writing this chapter and perfect it so I could upload it for you all. As soon as I get this chapter up, I'm going to work like hell to finish Chapter 7 by tomorrow, and then work on Chapter 8 right after that. You guys deserve a lot of chapters after the long wait I've made you suffer! Again, I'm so sorry! I promise I'll try to be much quicker with updating!  
**

* * *

_Arizona walked around the hospital, having just left her pediatrics' ward. She was on her way to the orthopedics' section of the hospital, looking to surprise her wife. Behind her back she had a bouquet of flowers, including red roses and red and yellow tulips. As she entered the ortho wing, she leaned over the desk and asked one of the nurses where Callie was. _

"_She should be checking up on patients right now. I believe she's on her last one, if you'll wait here for her-" Arizona cut the nurse off by nodding and eagerly beginning to talk._

"_I'm going to go over to that on-call room right there, and I want you to tell her when she's back to come in and lock the door. Can you do that for me, pretty please?" The nurse sighed and nodded. Arizona squealed with joy, before she took off quickly for the on-call room she'd pointed to. Thankfully, she found, it was empty. _

_The blonde placed herself on the side of the door so that when her wife opened it, she wouldn't see Arizona. It felt like an eternity that she was waiting, mostly because she was impatient. Finally, the door swung open, closed, and was locked. _

_Callie looked into the on-call room, slightly confused. She jumped when she heard a voice._

"_Flowers for my beautiful Calliope." Arizona's voice was soft, sweet, and loving. _

"_Arizona!" Callie yelped. "I love you so much." She picked up the bouquet, smelling the flowers before she looked at them in detail. "Oh, Arizona. You know what these mean, right?" _

"_Of course I do," the now close blonde whispered, softly grasping Callie's right hand. She placed soft and delicate kisses along her knuckles, whispering between each kiss, "I," kiss, "love," kiss, "you," kiss, "Calliope." _

_If Arizona hadn't already had her heart, Callie was sure that this would have won it for her. She Latina smiled brightly at her wife, love emanating from her eyes. "Let's make use of this room, shall we?" _

* * *

Arizona glanced at her brother. He had chosen to help her move into her dorm room instead of allowing her to do everything on her own. She insisted that he move himself in, but the hard-headed side of Tim had him saying no.

They'd just moved the last box into her room. There hadn't been any sign of her roommate, which slightly upset Arizona but at the same time pleased her.

"Timothy," she said, looking yet again at her twin, "it's time for us to put your things in your dorm. C'mon."  
He attempted to protest, claiming they needed to unpack her boxes. She simply shook her head and demanded that they go to his dorm.

The twins arrived in Timothy's dorm, carrying boxes up the flights and flights of stairs. Of course Timothy had gotten the 13th floor as his floor, which not only was creepy but it was one hell of a walk.

When they arrived in the room, they saw no sign of his roommate but there were packed boxes sitting on and around the bed closest to the window. That left Arizona's twin the bed closest to the door.

They placed their first round of boxes on his bed. Arizona suggested they go get the rest, so they could part ways and unpack their junk more quickly.

By the time they finished unloading Timothy's boxes Arizona was starving. She left her brother to his own devices and headed to a local restaurant to get a late lunch.

She ordered a cheddar burger with French fries, sipping her sweet tea timidly. Arizona, when her food arrived, quickly ate it and drove back to her own dorm to begin unpacking boxes.

* * *

When she entered her dorm room, she wasn't expecting what she saw. A blondish-red haired male was attempting to leave while a tall blonde was coaxing him into staying.

A blank look was left on Arizona's face. "Uh," she muttered. A little louder she stated, "Hi."

The arguing couple turned and looked at her, apology clear in their eyes. The tall blonde muttered something along the lines of "okay fine you can leave now" and the male left in haste.

Arizona sheepishly smiled.  
"I'm Arizona. I'm going to assume you're my roommate and not some murderer..."

"Teddy," she stated, placing a hand out for Arizona to shake. "I am indeed your roommate, but I may kill you if you keep me up late at night."

Arizona grinned, shaking her hand quickly. "Well, I'm a military brat. Expect me up at the ass crack of dawn and in just as the sun is setting."

Teddy let out a lively snort. "I'm a military brat too." Arizona simply smiled, saying nothing in return. "So, military brat Arizona, you got a last name?"

"Robbins. Arizona Robbins. And you, Teddy?"

"Teddy Altman is my name."

The two moved to unpack their separate things, talking animatedly as they did so. The two had a good bit in common, having lived at some of the same places and towns. They found themselves lost in conversation. They were broke out of it when a knock at the door caused Arizona to jump.

"Shit!" She muttered. "Sorry Teddy. I forgot I promised my brother we would eat dinner together. You're welcome to join, if you'd like."

The shorter blonde moved to answer the door, finding not only her twin but also the mysterious male from earlier.

"'Zona, this is Owen my roommate. Owen my roommate this is Arizona my sister." Tim stated.

"Timothy, this is Teddy my roommate. Teddy my roommate this is Timothy my brother." She responded, pointing to Teddy as she spoke.

"Owen!"

"Teddy!"

Arizona and Timothy glanced at each other as Tim's roommate and her roommate embraced each other in a tight hug.

"Small world, huh?" She commented as the two broke apart.

"No kidding," Tim muttered in response. "Let's go, 'Zona. Owen you're welcome to come with us if you'd like to still."

"And Teddy you're welcome to come as well." Arizona and Tim took off at a slow pace, exiting the dorm. Arizona waited by the door as the other two trailed out, and she locked it with her key. "I know it's the first day here, and I maybe should be more trusting, but I'm not taking any chances with people I don't know," she stated to the questioning look her brother and Teddy threw her.

"Only you, Arizona," Tim responded, snickering as he did so.

Thirty minutes later, they were seated at an Olive Garden near the campus. Tim sat next to Arizona while Teddy sat next to Owen. "I wonder if they're dating," she thought, glancing at the menu.

* * *

"_Now I'd like to get things straight. Your Uncle Owen and your Aunt Teddy are not romantically involved, and never have they been. And I highly doubt they will ever be," Arizona said, a slightly lopsided grin on her face. She held back her laughter, knowing all too well why Teddy wouldn't ever end up with Owen._

"_Oh, Arizona, just hurry up and tell the story. You're nowhere near the good part yet!" Her wife whined, demanding she keep going. _

"_And what part would that be?" The moment the words exited her lips, so sweet and innocently, she was drawn flush to her wife, who whispered as she leaned in closely, "I think you'll know." _

_A kiss. A simple, beautiful kiss was not what happened. The second the words fell from Callie's mouth, her kids were hissing, "Ew!" and so the precious moment was ruined. _

* * *

"Arizona." Tim said, looking at his sister. "Arizona!" He tried again. "Arizona Robbins!" Still nothing. "Please excuse what I'm about to do," he stated to Teddy and Owen as he raised a hand up and lightly slapped Arizona across the face.

"TIMOTHY ROBBINS!" She screeched, shock and anger evident on her face. "What the hell was that for?" She was half tempted to smack Timothy back much harder, but never did.

"You were staring into space, 'Zona. I called out your name multiple times and you just had this strange look on your face. So, I did what I knew would get your attention."

"Don't you ever fucking do that again," she hissed.

Not long after the "incident", their food arrived. Arizona instantly took a liking to her fettuccine alfredo dish. As they ate, they made small talk. When she was three-fourths of the way finished with her pasta, she finally asked one of the questions that were burning in her mind.

"So, Teddy, Owen, how did you two meet?"

"Well, growing up army brats- as I'm sure you both know- is hectic. My father and I moved around bases a lot." Teddy began, glancing at Owen almost to ask, "_Do you want to tell, or should I?_".

"As did I," Owen interjected, throwing the story to himself momentarily.

"One day, I met Owen here, because he had been playing outside and kicked a ball over to my yard. We became instant friends, because what isn't fun about bonding over the fact you've lived in every state and multiple countries?" The comment was dripping with sarcasm. "Somehow, every time my family moved, his would move. To the same bases. So, ever since I was eleven, I've been stuck with him."

"More like I've been stuck with you," he muttered. A quick jab to the side, and a, "What was that?" later and Owen was whimpering out the word, "Nothing!"

They were like a classic pair of brother and sister. But Arizona still wondered about their relationship status together.

"That's somewhat strange, but very…awesome." Tim let out a snort as Arizona said the word awesome, but remained quiet otherwise. She shot him a slight glare, but turned her head back to face Teddy and Owen.

"Yeah," Teddy said. "Awesome." There was a hint of sarcasm in her tone, but everyone knew she was joking for the most part. Teddy loved Owen like he was her own flesh and blood.

Arizona knew she shouldn't, but she wanted to so badly. "I have to ask…" She began, looking at Teddy and Owen. "Are you two, like," she broke off, trying to find a way to phrase it. Unable to find the words, she drew a heard between the two of them in the air. "Ya know, like that?"

Owen was the first to laugh. "Oh god no! Not like I haven't tried, though."

Teddy grinned, shaking her head. "He's just a friend. Nothing more. And that's all he will ever be."

"Way to crush a guy's ego," he whined in response, causing everyone but him to burst into laughter.

The rest of the evening went on, and eventually the four parted ways. Tim dropped Arizona and Teddy off at their dorm building, and drove himself and Owen to their building.

* * *

Arizona walked up to her room, Teddy right behind her. Once they got into their room, she felt like collapsing on her bed and sleeping for the next twelve years of her life. Teddy, having noticed this, let out a childish laugh.

"Arizona, are you tired or something? You look kinda like shit," she stated.

"Yes, Teddy, I am tired. Now quit teasing me for it and let me go the hell to bed."

Teddy laughed, shaking her head as she did so. "Army brats," she joked.

"You're an army brat too, idiot," Arizona mumbled as she walked her way to their shared bathroom, carrying clothes and tooth brush and toothpaste as she went.

If Teddy had responded to her remark, Arizona didn't hear it over the sound of water rushing into the sink as she brushed her teeth. When she exited the bathroom five minutes later, she was donning a pair of boxer shorts and a tank top. Her hair was messily combed through by her hands, having forgotten her brush in the dorm. She collapsed on her bed, yawning as she did so.

* * *

The next morning she was up at five, doing push-ups and sit-ups in the confined space of her dorm. Teddy, too, was awake, but had opted to do her push-ups and sit-ups before showering. After Arizona finished her floor exercises, she threw on a pair of running shorts and her Nikes. She found a piece of paper and wrote Teddy a note.

"I went running. –Arizona"

After she placed the note creatively near Teddy's junk, she dug around for a moment to find her iPod and headphones that accompanied it. Moments later she was outside, running around the campus.

Arizona ran at an easy speed, only changing when the tempo of the songs picked up. Some of her favorite songs were blasting into her ears on this long run.

* * *

Soon, a month had passed. Arizona had started her classes. She'd found out that Teddy and Owen, like Arizona and Tim, were premed students. It was funny the way things had worked themselves out.

Arizona's days were filled with waking in the early hours of the morning, exercising, running, and preparing herself for her classes with her friends. After class, she would bitch with Teddy about how awful their professors were, and complete all of the mandatory assignments and readings.

One morning, during Arizona's usual run, she found herself sprawled on the ground with someone else and a pile of books. She instantly jumped up, bending back down to pick up some of the books and return them to the woman she'd crashed into.

"I'm so sorry! I wasn't paying attention!" The other woman began to apologize, but was cut off by Arizona. "No, no. It was my fault."

The two awkwardly kept apologizing to each other. Arizona stuck out a hand and grinned. "I'm Arizona."

The other woman stuck her hand out to shake Arizona's. "Joanne." After exchanging pleasantries, the two were talking animatedly. But with the sound of a loud, awkward, and annoying beeping from Joanne's pocket, the two had to part ways.

"Listen," Joanne began, "though our meeting was a bit… Accidental, is there any chance I can see you again?"

* * *

**A/N; I hope you thoroughly enjoyed this chapter! Yes, I realize, another cliffhanger! But those are the best! Well… Sort of. But I promise, chapter 7 will be up either later today or tomorrow after I wake up! **

**Also, I just wanted to say thanks to all of you who have reviewed this recently. Especially all of the anonymous reviews that have been trashing me. You are what motivated me to write this chapter. So, thank you, haters, for keeping me going. Be very proud of yourselves. You should be. Keep it up. **


	8. Chapter 7

**A/N; I just want to say a big congratulations to me for actually sitting on my ass all day and writing this. I didn't want to lie about having it out literally as soon as Chapter 6, so I made sure I wouldn't by writing it the moment I finished 6. I got to admit, I don't know how good this will be. I'm trying to rush, which is bad, but I feel bad… So, rushed chapter it is. I can't guarantee it'll be very long, either. Maybe a thousand or two thousand words… If that much. I'll try my best though! **

**PS; If I name any restaurants nearby Johns-Hopkins during the college places, they're made up places… Do not seriously think they're there. **

* * *

Arizona had met up with Joanne again. In fact, she decided today would be the day she introduced Joanne to her brother, her roommate, and his roommate.

It wasn't a huge deal, meeting Teddy and Owen, but for Arizona to introduce someone to her brother… Well, that was definitely something. The blonde wasn't entirely sure what their relationship was. Was Joanne her girlfriend? Were they just friends? They'd been out together multiple times, Joanne hadn't kissed her anywhere but her cheek and they spent all their free time talking to each other.

An idea sprung into her head. She walked to Joanne's dorm, already having finished with her classes for the day. She knew Joanne would be getting ready to go to her last class of the day, and wouldn't have much time to talk, but Arizona just had a simple question for her.

When she reached the fourth floor, she found room 481. After knocking, and having Joanne answer the door, she looked at the dark haired woman in front of her.

"Joanne, would you go out to dinner with me after you meet Timothy, Teddy, and Owen?"

"Sure, Arizona. I was actually going to ask if we could. I have something I want to talk with you about."

"Alright!" Arizona had a grin on her face, dimples popping out.

"Arizona, your dimples are so cute," Joanne said, causing the blonde to blush lightly at the compliment.

"Thanks," she responded, sheepishly smiling at the ground.

"I gotta go, Arizona. My English class starts in," she looked at the clock in her room momentarily, "ten minutes!" She had a frantic look on her face.

"Okay. Bye, Joanne." The blonde, giddily, parted ways with the brunette. She was, to say the least, excited. Arizona truly thought that she and Joanne had something together.

* * *

Timothy arrived at her dorm with Owen thirty minutes before they needed to be there. Arizona figured it was so Tim could have extra time to tease her about the fact her girlfriend- which Joanne wasn't, as far as she knew- was coming to meet her family. "Family" because Tim was her twin, and there was no changing that, because Teddy was now her sister, and Owen, too, was her brother. They were a big, happy, mushy family.

Tim sat in front of Arizona, a completely serious look on his face. She was staring into space, once again. He opened his mouth to say something when there was a knock at their door. Arizona, whom previously was staring into nothingness, jumped up and ran for the door.

Not bothering to see who it was, the blonde opened the door. Standing before her was none other than Joanne. Arizona had a sudden shy look on her face, and she quietly squeaked, "Hi."

"Hi yourself," Joanne said, entering the dorm room. Arizona closed the door behind them, and grasped the brunette's arm, dragging her towards the circle in the floor.

"Sit!" Arizona commanded, doing just that herself. Joanne complied, sitting next to the blonde. Arizona went in order of the circle, introducing her family.

"Teddy, Owen, Timothy, meet Joanne."

"Hello," "Hi," "It's a pleasure to finally meet the girl who's got Arizona all-" The introductions of each person coming out of their mouths was cut short when Arizona reached over and hit Tim, silencing him. She did not want him screwing up anything. Or scaring Joanne away.

"Who's got Arizona all what?" Joanne questioned, curiosity blooming on her face.

"Timothy, do not answer that question. I'll kill you if you do." The blonde male nodded, not saying a word. Joanne had a slight pout on her face when she realized Timothy wasn't saying a word.

Instead of saying anything, Tim gave her the typical "you hurt her, you die" look. He wasn't sure if the message was received or not, but he just knew he'd delivered it.

After a while of innocent chatter, the "oh, you're from the west coast?" and the "you're quite nice", Arizona and Joanne departed from the dorm room, waving goodbye and preparing for their evening.

* * *

Arizona drove them to a nice restaurant called "The Spot". It wasn't too far from the university, kind of a hole in the wall type place. Arizona had found it with Teddy one day after their classes, both of them too tired to try and make anything in their tiny dorm. They'd gone downtown, searching for a place that was cheap but worth it. It was definitely a casual place, something comfortable.

After sitting down in their booth and ordering their meals- Arizona a bacon cheeseburger and Joanne a Stromboli- the two began talking animatedly. When their meals arrived, Arizona casually stated, "I remember you saying something about having something to talk to me about?"

Joanne nodded, taking a sip of her water. She breathed out momentarily, before muttering inaudible things to herself.

Finally, the brunette spoke up.

"Arizona…" She calmly stated. "What are we? Are we friends? Are we more than that? Are we anything?"

The breath the blonde had been holding escaped from her mouth.

"We're… Whatever you want us to be." Arizona paused, choosing her next words carefully. "I like you, Joanne. And clearly you like me too because if you didn't you wouldn't have stuck around this long. We flirt innocently, you've kissed my cheek. Maybe that's just typical friend stuff… And if that's what we are, alright."

"God, Arizona," the brunette laughed, "you seriously think I want to be your friend?"

The blonde was taken aback. Before she could do or say anything, the brunette continued. "I want to be your girlfriend. Not your friend."

Arizona nodded, calmly breathing in and out. "I want to be your girlfriend, too."

"Good. I would really hate to be rejected." This caused the blonde to let out a quiet, throaty laugh. She smiled brightly at the woman before her.

The blonde hadn't noticed that she and the brunette, within their deep talk, had finished their food. She noticed when the brunette said, "Let's get out of here."

"Huh?" Arizona's first reaction. "Oh! Yeah! Let me leave a tip." She pulled out a few bills from her purse, and then stood. Joanne mimicked her actions, save the money. Arizona dropped the money on the table, placed a glass over it, and exited the restaurant with Joanne in tow.

Soon they were back at the university, and Arizona was dropping the brunette off at her building. She exited the car when Joanne did, opting to walk her to her dorm.

As they walked, Joanne not so subtly grabbed Arizona's hand and held it as they walked up the flights of stairs. A grin was on the blonde's face, happy for the contact.

When they reached her dorm, the blonde let go of her hand. "I'll see you soon?" She asked, not exactly wanting to leave.

"Yes. You will." Joanne stated firmly, smiling at Arizona. The blonde slowly moved closer, leaning her face into a much smaller proximity of Joanne's. The brunette took the hint, leaning in as well. Their lips finally touched after what seemed like minutes of them leaning into each other.

The blonde pulled away first, smiling. "I'll see you soon, Joanne." She turned around, and walked back to her car.

* * *

Arizona was back in her dorm room, slipping off her shoes, grabbing clothing, and walking to the bathroom. She changed, and flopped down on her bed. Teddy, whom she thought was sleeping, was suddenly at her side.

"Details! I want details."

"Excuse me?"

"Cut the bullshit, Arizona. I want the details of your evening."

"We ate. I dropped her off. I'm home."

"Total shit!" Teddy muttered, glaring at the blonde. "C'monnn, you know you want to spill."

"Alright, fine…" The blonde trailed off, looking at Teddy. "We went to The Spot, we ate, and we talked about us. She's my girlfriend, Teds. When I dropped her off, we kissed."

"Wow, you're easy to crack." The taller blonde walked, unimpressed, to her own bed and laid down.

"Fuck you," Arizona muttered, not meaning the words at all.

"Only if you let me do you first."

The comment surprised Arizona, but she didn't dwindle on it. She was too giddy from her evening with Joanne to care. So, as she glanced up to the ceiling of her dorm, she found herself closing her eyes and attempting to fight the tiredness that enveloped her body.

Unsuccessful, Arizona was soon out like a light.

* * *

The next few weeks were great. Arizona was having fun with Joanne. They'd had their first "official" date, and ever since they'd been on such a high. She and Joanne were having the greatest time of their lives.

One morning, Arizona decided to go on her morning run with Teddy- a little later than when she usually ran. They ran in silence, always side by side in their movements. If Arizona turned, Teddy turned. They were synchronized. It was strange.

After they finished their run, the two decided to waste time before they had their first classes by firstly cleaning up, and then secondly trying to beat each other in board games.

After they each took turns showering and freshening up, Teddy pulled out a box in which contained Monopoly, Life, chess, and checkers.

"We're playing Monopoly." Arizona snatched the game from the box, and began digging through it. "I'm the shoe."

Teddy opened her mouth to protest, but knew she wouldn't win that battle. "Fine," she muttered, pouting slightly.

After they set up the board, they needed to decide who went first. An intense battle of rock-paper-scissors later, Arizona was rolling the monopoly dice.

Thirty minutes later, Arizona was screaming all kinds of profanities when she got passed by her roommate or had to pay up. She rolled the dice, getting a 7. She moved her shoe along the board, narrowly escaping the "jail" space, and one of Teddy's properties.

"Take that, bitch!" She yelled excitedly. Teddy simply rolled her eyes. After an hour had passed, they were packing the game away, much to Arizona's displeasure. She had lost.

"You fucking bitch," she kept muttering, "how could you!"

"Oh, Arizona, it was absolutely nothing." The taller blonde smirked at her friend, replacing the Monopoly game into her box of board games. The two finally got up from their positions of playing and exited their dorm room.

* * *

As they entered their advanced biology lesson, Arizona noticed that something was clearly off. Their teacher, whom was usually pacing the room muttering about how the students were too slow in getting to his classroom, was standing quietly at his desk. The blonde dared not question it as she took a seat closer to the back than she usually sat with Teddy.

The lesson did not start as it usually did. Their professor was… Well, he was not happy. Something was bothering him. Instead of quietly muttering about the students in his class, he decided that was how he'd start the lesson.

"You insolent idiots! Always wasting my time. If you're going to show up late, even if it is by one minute, why plan to show up at all! You're all a waste of my time! I don't know why I bother…" He paced around the front of the room. Somehow, that seemed to calm him, because he'd stopped his yelling and uttered the familiar words that started every lecture.

"Get out some paper and your textbooks. Begin taking notes."

* * *

"_Okay… So, as you can tell, Joanne is not your other mother. If she was, I'd probably murder us all." The blonde lightly joked, smiling at her children. Her wife laughed quietly, but remained quiet. It wasn't awkward for her to listen to Arizona's past relationships. The first time she'd heard these stories, of course it was awkward. But now, knowing that for sure this woman loved her and wouldn't ever hurt her? It didn't bother her at all. _

* * *

**A/N; Okay… So a half-assed chapter. Sorry that it probably sucked. I just wanted to get it out before I was unavailable for 3 days. Going on a somewhat of a vacation. I hope this chapter was enjoyed highly.**

**Also, I wanna make this clear… Teddy and Owen, yeah we know from the show that they're great friends/were great friends and had known each other from the army. Arizona and Teddy just became friends on the show for whatever reason. But I wanted them to have background. So no, in a few chapters we aren't suddenly going to have Callie and the rest of the grey's cast appearing at university. It'll come later on, I promise. For now, I have a master plan and it shall unravel as I update. **


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N; before I start this chapter I've a few things I'd like to address. **

**First and foremost, thank you everyone for the support. I know I've been giving somewhat half-assed and extremely late chapters recently. But I do want it to be known that's going to change. I think I'm going to, after Chapter 8 is posted, take a week and write three chapters. Set a schedule for when I'll update. Like, every Monday and Thursday or something… And the time in-between that, I'll be writing and always have chapters ready so I'm not so behind and feel awful for not posting anything after a while.**

**Once August twenty-second comes, I'll officially be a high school freshman. And I'll probably end up being one of those nerdy kids who sits alone in the cafeteria doing her homework literally right after I got it. But nonetheless I will enjoy being in high school.**

**I hate to do it, but there's going to be a time jump soon. Not a major one, probably just two or three years. Not this chapter, though. In this chapter it'll cover Arizona's relationship with Joanne. Almost all parts of their relationship will be revealed- so yes that means glimpses at their sex life. Before anyone says I'm too young to be writing this kind of stuff, shove it. I have the right to write what I want to. But it also means going into detail about how they broke up yadda yadda meeting the family and stuff. Hence the time gap that's coming up in Chapter 9. Plus, you know, my wicked evil plans start when the time gap happens...**

**Another thing I'd like to bring to attention is that I'm planning another story. I will probably have five or six chapters of it written before it is halfway done. I won't post it until after I finish Into the Fire, though. I want to keep my mind sort of… not frazzled, I suppose. Handling updates for two stories would kind of destroy my teenage mind. But fear not, my mind hasn't been destroyed just yet!**

**Now, with all of that out of the way…**

* * *

Arizona was happy. She had a slight smile on her face every day. She was fucking giddy. She and Joanne had just celebrated their six month anniversary. Their relationship had come to the point that, when spring break was coming up in just two days, Joanne was coming home with her.

Many people would say that she and Joanne were moving way too fast in their relationship, and Arizona agreed to an extent. Only after three months of dating did they exchange "I love yous". They'd started dating on September twentieth, so three months and five days later, they were whispering, "I love you," to each other into the phone.

It was almost surreal. Arizona felt like at any given moment she'd screw the relationship up. She didn't feel that way because she'd had past relationships fail, because truth be told there hadn't been any past relationships. She was just afraid that one day she'd wake up and it would have all been a dream.

But as the blonde smiled at the thought of Joanne meeting her mother and father… Well, she wasn't having those awful thoughts.

Timothy had suggested bringing Teddy and Owen with him in his car to go meet their parents, but Arizona had to remind him that A- he wasn't dating Teddy or Owen so there wasn't an immediate want or need for them to meet their parents, and B- they have families to go home to as well.

Tim passed off what she had said, and invited them to come anyways. However, not to Arizona's surprise, they already had plans to go home and visit their own parents. Her twin seemed slightly upset about that, but Arizona reckoned it was because she got to have someone come home with her and he didn't.

* * *

Although it was two days away from happening, Arizona was pacing back and forth in her dorm room. She had already packed her bags, come up with a complete schedule of how the day should go, and changed her mind about having Joanne come.

It was an understatement to say that she was nervous. Simply nervous didn't fit her. Erratic, insane, overreacting, and panicked were a few words to _lightly_ describe her.

Arizona was too busy walking back and forth, saying stupid nothings about how she was sure she'd scare Joanne off if she met her parents because her parents were absolutely embarrassing, to notice Teddy had returned to their dorm room.

The shorter blonde finally noticed her best friend when a pair of arms were wrapped around her. "Shut the fuck up."

"You know how to make a girl feel great," she muttered to Teddy, returning the embrace.

"You know you feel better now that I'm here. Don't even try and deny it." Teddy let go of the shorter girl, giving her a serious expression.

"Mhm, whatever helps you sleep at night Teds."

Arizona, beneath the surface, was grateful that her roommate had saved her from her…_episode_, or whatever someone would call what she had been having. Of course, the blonde wouldn't admit it. She'd just make jokes at Teddy's expense and smile on, just like usual.

* * *

"_Just for the record, if you think that sounds like I was being nervous, you haven't seen anything." Arizona smiled all too knowingly. Her wife had to get herself drunk off her ass before she could ask her to move in with her. Arizona had found it sweet, but also ridiculous and slightly sad. _

"_Anyways, I'll finish telling you this part of the story now…" The blonde trailed off, beginning her tale once again._

* * *

The day before they were set to drive to the newly bought house of Barbara and Daniel Robbins in some small town in Virginia, Timothy asked Arizona if they could meet up and go to lunch. Arizona agreed, because as little as she liked to admit it, ever since they'd started college the twins hadn't spent hardly any time together alone.

The blonde definitely missed her brother and his antics, but for some reason she didn't think this lunch was going to involve any of those. When she sat down at the table at The Spot, she felt queasy.

"Timothy Robbins, I can tell there's something on your mind." Arizona stated once their food had arrived.

"Alright, alright… You caught me!" He gave her a playful smile, before his face turned deadly serious.

"I... I have some concerns," he began, pausing as he tried to word it properly.

"About?"

"Ihavesomeconcernsaboutyourre lationshipwithJoanneandyoubr ingingherhomeforspringbreak!" He squeaked out. "You…what?" Arizona stated, confusedly. The only thing she got out of that was "concerns about spring break". And of course, to her, it made no sense.

"I don't want you to get mad at me, 'Zona… But, I just…I have concerns about you and your girl, Joanne. I don't want you getting hurt, sis." His eyes flashed with brotherly love.

"Timothy Robbins," she growled, changing her tone to a much nicer one. "I'm not mad at you. But I do have to ask, why do you have concerns?"

"I think she's pressuring you, sis. She already conned you into saying you love her. I'm willing to bet you've already done the nasty with her, too."

"You have no idea what you're talking about! I get that you're trying to be macho brother and care, but butt out! This is my life and those are my decisions, not yours!"

"'Zona! Calm down. I'm trying to be your brother here. I love you and I don't want her to hurt you. This is your first relationship and I don't want it to break you." Tim looked down at his plate and set his napkin down.

"Timothy, this is ridiculous. You're just jealous that I'm dating someone and you're not. That if I want to I can have all the sex I want. Get over it already."

Tim, quickly, with his hand, waved the waiter over and got the check. He whipped out cash and muttered, "Keep the change."

He stood and exited the building, not caring if Arizona followed. The words she said, although he knew she didn't mean them truly, stung. They were completely inaccurate and rude.

He was considering leaving Arizona there so her precious Joanne could come and get her, but when he heard his sister coming after him and yelling, "Wait! Tim, wait!"

Arizona caught up to him, and placed her hand on his shoulder. "I…" She paused. "I didn't mean that, Timothy. I'm sorry."

"I know you didn't, Arizona." He didn't turn around, but he did pull her hand off his shoulder and pull her beside him. "Let's get ready to take you and your girl home."

* * *

That night, Arizona was finishing packing her bags in which she had already loaded and unloaded multiple times. She wasn't doing this because she was nervous for her girlfriend to meet her parents. She was doing this because she was nervous about what Timothy had said.

It made her fear that he knew something she didn't. She knew, or hoped she knew, that if he did know something he'd tell her about it. They were twins for crying out loud! There was no way he'd hide something from her…right?

She finished packing the bag finally, and with all the frantic worrying she was doing, she was glad that Teddy was in the room with her. As she lightly placed her bag in the floor, she laid her body on her bed.

"Teds?" She murmured and glanced over to the blonde sitting just a few feet away on her own bed.

"Yeah, 'Zona?" The shorter woman simply looked over at Teddy with a pathetic look and she knew what to do. Teddy was sitting next to Arizona, striking up a conversation of meaningless gossip. The smaller blonde was glad to have such a friend like Teddy. She honestly wasn't quite sure what she would do without her.

As Arizona thought more about her friendship with Teddy, she realized that the taller blonde was like glue. She held the group together. With Arizona and Tim's constant playful banter somehow ending up teasing Owen as well, Teddy was always the one who got them to calm down and stop their childish acts.

"Did you hear about Mallory, that stuck up blonde chick?"

"Nope."

"She's pregnant." Arizona bust into a fit of laughter, causing Teddy to laugh as well. It was so funny to her how the people who put out the most ended up pregnant.

After what seemed like hours of pointless gossip and talking, Arizona leaned her head back to touch her pillow, and the next thing she knew she was asleep.

Teddy chuckled softly and stood, walking back to her bed. She clicked off the lamp between their beds, and laid down on her own. She, too, was instantly asleep.

* * *

For the first time since Arizona and Timothy could first remember, their family was living off-base. She didn't know why, exactly, considering the year just before they went to college he'd been wanted for some United States military crisis or some bullshit that required them to move for what felt like the umpteenth time. Arizona wasn't bitter about having to move all the time, but she was just glad to have a stable house that they'd stay in for a while.

When she met Timothy and Joanne at his car, she had a bright smile on her face. Tim lifted the small trunk of his car open, placed his bags inside, and motioned for Arizona and her girlfriend to do the same.

As soon as they were all loaded up, they hopped in the car. Not wanting to make Joanne feel left out or anything, she sat in the back of the car with the brunette. Moments later, they were driving down the road.

Somewhere in the back of Arizona's mind, she wished that they'd flown. Sure, it wasn't exactly the farthest distance, the trip only going to take about five or five and a half hours, but Arizona just thought flying would be a simpler option.

The two blondes managed to keep themselves, as well as Joanne, entertained for the whole car ride. Whether it was turning on the radio and purposely singing like dying whales along to the music or cracking jokes or sharing childhood stories, it was working. So when Timothy pulled into the house that they now had to call home, Arizona didn't notice it as she was in the middle of telling Joanne of the time Tim broke his collarbone and one of his arms.

"Hey, 'Zona! Are you going to sit there all day rambling or are you going to get out of the car and say hello to mom and the Colonel?" The blonde blushed slightly as she got out of the vehicle, and walked to get her bags as well as help Joanne get her own.

* * *

When they entered the house, Arizona was prepared for her mother to verbally attack- well, not attack… perhaps bombard- Joanne with questions. Surprisingly, it was her father who they first saw.

"Colonel, this is Joanne." The brunette stuck her hand out for him to shake. Instead of doing just that, he stared at her for a brief moment.

"I'm the Colonel. You may call me the Colonel." Joanne's face was priceless. She had a confused and scared look on her face that kind of reminded Arizona of the looks a puppy gives when it's afraid.

Arizona shook her head at her father's antics and directed her girlfriend towards the kitchen, where she was sure she'd find her mother sitting and drinking either coffee or juice.

Her assumptions were true. Barbara Robbins was sitting at their small table, a cup of coffee in hand, sipping delicately on it.

"Hi, mom." Arizona stated.

"Oh, Arizona dear! I didn't notice you were there. And I see you've got your girlfriend with you!" Barbara acknowledged Joanne's presence but ignored the fact she knew her name. Arizona had told her multiple times on the phone her girlfriend Joanne would be coming with her.

"Joanne," the brunette supplied, a less nervous look on her face.

"Well let's show Joanne the guest room, shall we?" There was a slightly tense spot in Barbara's tone, as if she was untrusting of the brunette.

* * *

"_When my parents met Calliope, they had a much different reaction. I was so surprised." _

"_What did they do__?" _

"_I think I'll save that part of the story for another time."_

"_Aw! But I want to hear it," one of her sons whined. _

"_You will. I promise. I told you this would be a long story…" She trailed off, bringing herself back into story-teller mode. _

* * *

When they reached the room, Arizona looked at Joanne with a smile.

"I'll give you a little while to relax. It's been a long ride. Come on out whenever you're ready."

Joanne nodded, placing her bags next to her bed. She slipped off her shoes and watched the blonde exit the room with her mother.

Arizona and Barbara walked to the kitchen. The blonde gave her mother a heavy glance.

"Mom, I know you're just trying to care, but you don't need to be so tense and rude around Joanne. I love her."

"Of course, dear. I know you do." Her mother looked around, attempting to find anything else to talk about. She didn't get good vibes from Joanne. No good vibes at all. "How are you liking it in Blacksburg?"

"It's pretty. There's so much country and grass. Oh, and the river! I want to see it sometime this week. Maybe drown Tim in it."

Barbara laughed. "Well, if you do that I won't help with your defense story. But if you go to the river, you just have to drive out Price's Fork and then down McCoy Road. It'll be a good few miles down McCoy, and I guarantee the water will be a bit chilly, but I'm sure you'd enjoy it. Quite peaceful if you ask me. Good for tough decisions."

To Arizona, it felt like her mother was trying to give her a subliminal message. It was almost like she was telling her she needed to think hard about something.

* * *

A few hours later, everyone was situated at the Robbins family dinner table. They were eating a pot roast dish that Barbara had made. Daniel and Barbara were making light chatter with everyone.

As an attempt to heed Arizona's advice to be nicer, Barbara suddenly turned her attention to Joanne.

"So, Joanne, how did you meet Arizona?"

"Well, I was on my way to class- I signed up for one of those ridiculous early morning classes- and wasn't looking. All the sudden I collided into the most beautiful girl in the world. I knew then I had to see her again. And so I did."

Arizona blushed. A bright grin filed onto her face, and a sheepish look fell onto Joanne's.

"That's so sweet," Barbara cooed. The elder woman wasn't that enthralled by Joanne's little tale, but she pretended she was just for the sake of her daughter.

Barbara, deep down, felt something was off about this Joanne girl. But… She knew she needed to try and be decent.

"What do your parents do?" she asked, trying to find more information on her.

"My father is a medical engineer. He designs special wheelchairs and equipment for hospitals."

"Oh, that's quite interesting dear. And your mother?"

"I'm not quite sure. I haven't seen her since I was seven. She…She walked out on me and my father."

"I am so sorry! I didn't know."

There was an awkward tension amongst everyone. Joanne said nothing. Barbara said nothing. The moment Joanne finished dinner she looked at Arizona with pleading eyes.

"If you don't mind, mom, may we be excused?" The older woman nodded, still having no words to say. Arizona picked up her and Joanne's plates, placing the brunette's underneath, carrying them to the trash can and scooping out the excess food. She rinsed them off before setting them lightly in the seat.

Arizona grasped Joanne's hand and led her back towards the guest bedroom. She wasn't about to leave her girlfriend alone and upset, so when they arrived at the room, she laid down on the bed with her.

"It's alright, Jo," Arizona whispered, holding the brunette tightly. She kept whispering sweet nothings into her ear as the evening went on. After an hour or so, it seemed that Joanne had fallen asleep. Arizona took this as an opportunity to not get herself possibly caught in a compromising position with her girlfriend and worry her parents.

She slowly and silently removed herself from her girlfriend, and left her peacefully asleep. She walked up the stairs to her own bedroom and changed into some of her sleepwear.

When she finished her nightly routine, Arizona relaxed into her bed and felt into a deep sleep.

* * *

After three days of being with her family non-stop, Arizona decided it was time to take Joanne out on a date. Since she wasn't exactly familiar with Blacksburg and all of its places, she asked her parent's permission to go out exploring the night before.

Her mother and father had been a little reluctant at first to agree. She had to beg and plead to get them to agree.

After Joanne had gone to bed, Arizona quietly left her parent's home. She drove out past the new elementary school, past the high school, and made it into the Christiansburg-Blacksburg area.

After driving around for a while, and of course getting lost just for a bit, she found herself parked outside a restaurant named Macadoo's. There were menus to take outside of the building, so the blonde parked and grabbed one and returned to the car.

She eyed it over and nodded in approval, but didn't make a rash decision. She folded it up and tucked it into her pockets. Arizona started the car and drove off to find the best way to get downtown.

She knew if she was planning on taking Joanne out, she'd need to find the best place. She hated to admit it, but Joanne was…She wasn't a gold digger, but she didn't go for cheap either.

Arizona had found herself, in the past months, spending large amounts of money for dinners for anniversaries or buying gifts for anniversaries. Not to mention the Christmas present Arizona had gotten her girlfriend.

After driving around and looking at several restaurant menus, Arizona decided that the best place to take Joanne was the first place she'd gone. Macadoo's was reasonable food, but also at a high enough price to hopefully satisfy her. Happy with her decision, the blonde drove back to her parent's house with a perfect plan in mind.

* * *

The next morning, Arizona woke up and went on a run through the neighborhood after her usual morning workout. When she returned, she showered. Once done with the necessities of the morning, she found Joanne already awake and waiting to use the shower.

The blonde mentioned to Joanne before she went to shower that she was planning on taking her out for a morning coffee. What she didn't tell Joanne was that after that she was taking her on a tour of the town and then taking her out for dinner.

A little less than an hour later the couple arrived at Starbucks. Arizona knew it wasn't the most original place for morning coffee, but she knew it was most definitely super awesome.

She got a caramel macchiato, because those were the best. Joanne just settled for a plain black coffee. How her girlfriend stomached black coffee she'd never know.

They chatted aimlessly during their coffee date. Arizona had finished her second caramel macchiato by the time Joanne finished one cup. She could sense the brunette didn't want to stay at Starbucks any longer, so she began the second phase of their day.

She drove them to the university parking lot in Blacksburg and parked the car.

"We're going to take a tour of downtown," Arizona supplied, noticing Joanne's confused face. "I think you'll like it here."

"I'll be happy as long as I'm spending time with you," Joanne replied, smiling.

They walked along the streets, noticing it was slightly crowded. There were many Virginia Tech stores in the downtown area, and one of the stores had a display window with a hoodie that read "Gobble gobble, bitches." It had made Arizona and Joanne laugh so hard that the blonde just _had_ to take a picture and show it to Tim when they returned home.

* * *

By the time they finished their touring of Blacksburg, it was six o'clock. Arizona wasn't sure how she'd managed to lose track of time, but when she did realize what time it was, she hurriedly drove them to the restaurant.

When they were seated, Arizona looked over her menu with interest. She knew what she wanted almost instantly. And it seemed Joanne did as well.

The waitress gave them a funny look when they both ordered the same thing; a speakeasy sandwich. A speakeasy was served on a crescent roll with gooey melted cheese, tomatoes, and bacon. Instead of ordering a side of fries each, they decided to split one.

"This place is so amazing, Arizona," Joanne commented near the end of dinner. "I expected to enjoy the time here with your family…But not this much. I love it."

Arizona beamed. "I do too, Joanne."

An hour later they were pulling into her parent's driveway. Arizona led Joanne to the guest bedroom's door, and stole a sweet kiss from her.

She whispered, "I love you," and slowly walked off to her own bedroom. Arizona changed and went to bed, a giddy smile on her face.

* * *

Meanwhile, in Joanne's room, the brunette was on her phone having a conversation.

"I'm sorry I can't be with you."

Pause.

"I'm with her, yeah."

Pause.

"I miss you too."

Pause.

"I love you."

Pause.

"Good night."

Joanne slowly changed her clothing, and lay down in bed, a content smile upon her lips.

* * *

**A/N; Uh-oh. Who was Joanne talking to? Guess you won't know until chapter 9! **

**Before I post chapter nine, I want to work on a one-shot I've got planned for a different show. I also want to work on the first few chapters of my next AU story.**

**I wanted to mention that, yes, Blacksburg, VA is a real place. My grandparents live up there, so I spend a good bit of time around there exploring. That's why I knew the names of restaurants. Whenever I go to Macadoo's I order the speakeasy, so of course I made Arizona order it. I also have a picture of the "Gobble gobble, bitches." Shirt on my phone, and I believe on my facebook as well. I knew I wanted to incorporate a familiar place into this story, and Blacksburg just seemed perfect. So I hope you enjoyed! **


	10. Author's Note 2

**A/N; Ugh... I feel so freaking awful right now. I said I'd update and then didn't. I have a feeling this is a bad idea to say this, but I think I'm going to put Into The Fire on hiatus. I just have no inspiration for it right now. Maybe if I go watch some Grey's Anatomy episodes on Netflix I'll be inspired for this story. **

**I have so many ideas for other stories, based on Grey's and on other shows swarming in my mind yet I cannot seem to write anything for this one. It breaks my heart knowing that I can't seem to continue it. I've been trying, I have, to write a new chapter. I just can't do it for some reason. **

**I think I'll get myself, somehow, to write one more chapter for now and then put Into The Fire on hiatus for a while until my mojo is back. If I end up putting up new stories, perhaps it's meant to be that way… I don't know. **

**I suppose there is good news to this author's note, as depressing as the other news may seem. Even as a freshman in high school I am on the radar of a lot of colleges within my state, and a few surrounding states. I've started getting mail from colleges trying to get me interested in their school. I feel pretty great about that, even though chances are I'm going to trash it all. **

**I'm so sorry you guys for being such a disappointment. I'll try to be better once I get my head back in the game and can give you guys a story that you deserve. Please forgive me. **


	11. Chapter 9

**A/N; I am so mad at myself… I promised updates and didn't even write anything. Writers block sucks. I'd use the "I started high school" excuse claiming it was all stressful and I hate it but truth be told, high school is great. The only bad thing is I keep getting lost! Damn multiple buildings… Anywho, I am so sorry for not updating for so long. I can't promise that won't happen again, but I'll try my best to not let it happen. **

* * *

It had been a year since Arizona and Joanne started dating. For their one year anniversary Arizona bought her a bracelet with her name inscribed upon it. Joanne had gotten Arizona tickets to see her favorite band in concert.

They were a happy couple to say the least. Arizona spent her days with Joanne and her evenings with her pseudo-family.

For their summer break, Arizona and Timothy went back to Virginia while Joanne went to Albany, Georgia. Arizona had revealed, before they parted, that she had lived there before she had come to Johns-Hopkins, and in turn Joanne admitted that was where she had first seen the blonde- at a restaurant where she worked part-time. Arizona vaguely remembered this encounter, not having been entirely focused on the beauty of her waitress at the time, mostly focused on the chat she was having with her father.

All was great as she entered her second year of college. She'd done some summer classes online and advanced a year in her studies, so as she entered her second year of undergraduate school it was as if she was entering her third.

How Arizona had found time to do all this baffled Timothy to no end. He and Arizona had basic training again as they had the summer before and yet his twin managed to complete a years worth of classes.

Somehow time blew by just as fast as it had the year before. Arizona and Joanne were suddenly only two days away from celebrating their second year together.

* * *

Halfway through the year, Tim had been deployed to Iraq. Arizona took the news the hardest, joking that she was only upset because she hadn't been picked, when in reality she was afraid for her brother.

In the blonde's life, he had been her partner in crime, her best friend, and most of all her brother. And now, he was off fighting a war where he could die. As much as she wished she could talk about it to Joanne, she felt insecure talking about her personal life with the brunette anymore.

Joanne had become more controlling upon Arizona, but not in a bad way. She just made sure everyone knew Arizona was hers.

With great luck Arizona and Teddy had been able to get an apartment not too far off of campus. They split the rent, surviving well off of the minimal amount of money they each had every month.

Teddy had become Arizona's partner in crime in place of Tim. Owen was like an official brother to her as well. The three were a dysfunctional family and they loved every moment of it.

It was officially their two year anniversary. The blonde had cleared her schedule for the day so she could spend it with her girlfriend. She had picked out a beautiful gold necklace that read "love" in an elegant cursive script. Arizona had gotten "My love for you is strong" inscribed on the back of it.

In addition to the necklace, Arizona had gotten a room at a hotel and spa for them to be pampered. The blonde was excited beyond belief. She felt like Joanne was the one for her.

* * *

When it came time for Arizona to leave and pick the brunette up, her heart swelled. She put her overnight bag inside of her car and drove to the campus.

Arizona arrived at Joanne's dorm and stepped out of her car. She walked, well more like ran, up the stairs to the fifth floor. When she got to the door she heard music blasting in the brunette's room.

The blonde knocked nonetheless. No one came to answer the door. Arizona kept knocking. Five minutes later, dumbfounded as she was, she stood and stared at the handle.

_Is it open…? Should I just try it? No, that would be too intrusive! But wait…she __**is**__ my girlfriend so it's not like she'd get upset, right? Okay, I'll do it._ She made up her mind and twisted the small door handle with ease. It was unlocked.

She wasn't sure what to make of the scene she saw in front of her eyes. So many thoughts were racing through her head. Her azure blue bulbs were anything but calm.

Her legs marched over to the bed where a very surprised Joanne lay. The brunette wasn't alone, however. A stark naked redhead accompanied her.

Arizona pulled the necklace box from her pocket. She ripped the necklace out and threw it at Joanne.

"Thanks for everything," she hissed. She wanted to scream and yell but didn't know what was appropriate at the time for her say.

"Arizona…" Joanne whispered. "I-it's not what you think…"

"Really, Joanne? _That's_ what you go with!? Then what is it? You're not having sex with this redheaded bimbo? Let me guess, you were walking around naked waiting for me and she showed up and you happened to fall onto your bed with her on top of you?"

Joanne looked down. There was no shame written on her face whatsoever. Arizona didn't let herself cry as she threw the box the necklace had come in on the ground.

"Goodbye Joanne," she whispered as she exited the dorm room. Joanne didn't even have the guts to go after her.

* * *

"_That bitch!" Arizona's daughter, Evelyn shouted._

"_Evvy, watch your language! But yes, that bitch is correct," Callie stated, chuckling. Arizona grinned at her wife._

"_Without Joanne having done that, I wouldn't have broken up with her for much much longer probably. I'm glad we broke up when we did- it brought me one step closer to meeting your mother and falling in love with her."_

* * *

Arizona stormed to her car and let out a muffled scream once she sat down inside. She pulled out her phone and swiftly dialed her mother's number. She was planning on asking her mom to tell Tim, the next time he was able to call, that he was right. That Joanne wasn't right for her. That Joanne was a bitch.

Her mom picked up on the first ring.

"Oh…Arizona dear, I was just about to call you." Barbara Robbins sounded as if she had just stopped crying.

"Mom…" Arizona said quietly, the rage she previously had having dissipated at the sound of her mother's voice. "Are you okay?"

Her mother halfheartedly laughed. "Oh, yes, Arizona. I'm alright…_I'm_ alright." Her tone became flat.

"Is the Colonel alright?"

"He will be."

"…Mom?" Arizona asked, afraid the worst had happened.

"What, dear?"

"Dad's…physically okay, right?" Arizona rarely called her father her dad. She referred to him as Colonel or Sir. When she was truly concerned, she said dad. And right now, she was scared and concerned as hell.

"Oh honey, he's fine. Emotionally… he's a wreck." This left Arizona even more confused.

"If he's alright, you're alright, and I'm alright…then who's not alright?"

"Arizona…it's Timothy."

"NO!" She yelled into the phone. "He's got to be alright! He's got to be! We just spoke to him a month ago! He was perfectly fine then! Please tell me he's perfectly alright now!"

Arizona was on the verge of tears. First her girlfriend, on their anniversary nonetheless, was in bed with another woman. And now…her brother, her partner in crime, her best friend wasn't alright.

"We got a call an hour or so ago. Very brief. Said that our Tim had been promoted the day after we had last been able to speak to us. I was so proud, honey…but then he continued. He said that they were under heavy attack. A sniper had been taking out the men one by one. The shots had stopped, honey. They weren't firing anymore.

A messenger came. He said they would stop for the night if the leader of that platoon came out and sacrificed himself for his group. The leader of the platoon was Timothy. His team told him not to.

But you know-knew our Tim, 'Zona. He went out there… saved the rest of his men. It was a shot to the chest, they think. They're not quite sure… It wasn't a single sniper shot that killed him. A grenade and a shot…"

"No…no. No, no. No!" The blonde refused to believe it. There was no way her best friend was gone. Her best friend was alright. He'd be back from the war in a few months.

"Arizona… He's gone."

"I have to go," she whispered, hanging up the call. She couldn't deal with this alone. And her mom was not a good person to try and talk to at this moment. They were both distraught. And her mother wouldn't allow her to be sad. Her mother would try and drown out her own sorrows.

* * *

So Arizona drove. She drove until she reached her apartment. She sprinted up the stairs. She banged on the door until Teddy let her in. And as soon as she was inside of her home, she broke.

Neither Teddy nor Arizona could vouch for how many hours the shorter blonde cried. Neither could tell you how long Teddy cried. But Teddy didn't cry as long as Arizona.

Because Teddy didn't lose her best friend, her brother, her twin. Teddy lost an amazing friend. But Teddy knew she had to be strong for Arizona. She needed to be her friend's rock in her time of need. So she became just that.

It had been a week before Arizona got the call that she needed to come home for the funeral. Teddy and Owen accompanied her back to her house in Virginia. They were to attend the funeral as well.

* * *

The family received an empty coffin and a flag. A proper military burial was given. Arizona bawled. She was an emotional wreck. Her thoughts were scattered, her priorities shot. Her dreams for the future were no longer existent.

The trio did not stay in town long after the funeral. They needed to get back to their classes. They also needed to get away from Arizona's grieving parents. Barbara thought it was fun to cook her emotions. Every few hours there would be some sort of desert being prepared. It was driving them insane, so the moment they could without being too insensitive, they headed back to Johns-Hopkins.

Four nights later, Arizona hit another stage in her grief. She had gone through denial, anger, bargaining, and now she was at rock bottom; depression.

She commandeered Teddy into going out to a bar with her. The first night she got so wasted, Teddy had to call Owen to help carry her up the stairs. The second night Arizona didn't drink as much, but she wasn't easy to get home.

* * *

By the first week, Arizona had gone home with several women and done some unspeakable things. Teddy knew she shouldn't let her roommate suffer this way, but she didn't know how to get her to stop.

Night after night after night Arizona would come back to their apartment trashed and missing another part of her soul. She would find an easy fuck at the bar and go home with her.

Middle of the night would she return with little time before she was passed out on her bed, hissing and yelling when the bright sunlight would wake her.

She was easily becoming tolerant to the alcohol. At least, that was what she called it. _Tolerant. _More like drunken.

Teddy just let her do it because she knew it was her own way of dealing. Teddy knew that it was her way to get back at Joanne. To get back at life for taking her brother. To get back at anyone who had ever hurt her. What Teddy didn't know, is why after months, she didn't bother sobering up.

A long time had passed since Arizona drank herself to sleep each night with yet another girl. One night stands became her passion. Somehow, she flew through college with ease. Her second semester of her yearly term was quickly beginning and she wasn't prepared at all.

Owen had stopped speaking to her at most times, knowing that she was too fragile to deal with. Teddy stayed with her and spoke to her, for she understood that if she didn't the blonde would become an even bigger mess.

For some reason, the taller blonde never knew where to draw the line. But finally, she knew.

Arizona brought home a girl to their apartment, and while she had a separate room inside it, Teddy could still hear the noise they made. The disgusting noises the strange woman made. She could hear Arizona moan out, "Oh god yes!" even though she knew the blonde felt nothing.

Teddy Altman knew that her friend didn't know this girl's name, and so she stopped Arizona's self harm hours later when the woman left.

Arizona wanted to go to sleep as soon as she left. But she didn't. She wasn't allowed to. Teddy Altman came barging into her room, forced her to sit up straight and get dressed, and listen to her.

"You're drunk right now. You know why, Arizona? Because you're some fucking drunken bitch now. All you do is drink. All you do is fuck strange women! Don't you think I get that you're upset that Tim died and that Joanne cheated on you!?"

"Teddy you-you're jus jealous!" The smaller blonde shouted, her words slurred, right back at the sober woman.

"No, Arizona. I'm not jealous of you. No one is jealous of you. You are horrible. You disgust me. Sober up. I'm taking you to see a therapist tomorrow. You need legitimate help. And clearly, your support system also known as me and Owen, has failed you."

"Whatevers, Teds." She muttered at the retreating figure of her dear friend.

* * *

"_I didn't believe that she'd do it." Arizona stated. "But she did. Boy, did she ever…" She trailed off, shaking her head. _

"_This was a dark time for me, kids. I was a horrible person. I took everything for granted. Thanks to Teddy, I don't do that anymore. Had she not stopped me...I don't know where I'd be."_

* * *

The following morning, despite Arizona's hangover, Teddy took her to a therapist at nine. She was forcefully dressed and cleaned. She was made to go into the office and Teddy even waited until she went into the doctor's room before she left.

When Arizona got into the room, she was surprised to find a young woman who couldn't be that much older than her staring back at her.

"Hello Arizona, my name is Dr. Plenterly. Nice to meet you," she extended her hand. Arizona winced and returned the gesture, shaking it lightly.

"Please stop shouting," she murmured, "and will you please close the blinds?"

"Hung over," the doctor commented. She did as she was asked, closing the blinds until it was much darker in the small room.

Arizona blankly stared at her as she took a seat on the couch.

"I'm not going to ask you to lay down, I'm not going to ask you how your brother's death made you feel, and I'm not going to ask you how getting drunk makes you feel."

"Okay."

"I'm going to ask you other things instead."

"Okay."

"Arizona, why did you choose to get drunk every night instead of talking to someone?"

"It was easy."

"Easy?"

"Yes, easy. E-a-s-y."

The doctor rolled her eyes at the blonde. She could tell there would be many sessions in their future if she wanted to get her to crack.

After the session, the doctor was unimpressed. She was, however, glad the blonde even showed up. Dr. Plenterly knew it took a friend forcing her to consider it and come to get her to do so, but she was glad she was too hung over to put up a fight.

* * *

**A/N; Okay… suckyish chapter, I know. Full of depressing crap. Joanne's inner bitch was finally discovered, though. And damn, she didn't even bother calling Arizona to try and win her back. Ouch. I was considering going back and changing my original chapter where I said that Tim had died to making him live…but then I was in this strangely dark, brooding, and depressed mood and so I made him die the same day she caught Joanne cheating. Awful of me, I know. But y'all will live with that. **

**I am so proud to say I think I've got my writing mojo back! Expect something in a few days, a week at the latest. I've got a ceiling tile to paint, so it won't be instantaneous. But trust me, it won't be as slow as it took for me to write this one.**

**P.S. To anyone who is also a fan of either Death and All His Friends or The A Team, I think I'll update one of those soon. **


	12. Chapter 10

**A/N; Woo! As I am writing this it is Friday evening and I am so pumped for the weekend! God, I never thought I'd say this but I'm so happy I am not in school right now. It has turned out to be so tiring and boring! But nonetheless I love it. **

**I think I am the only human being who can possibly have a C in physical education. **

**I think it's because my teacher is jealous of my awesomeness. It definitely has nothing to do with the fact I can't do pushups or run or anything dealing with athleticism… **

**Anyways! I am going to start writing a one-shot for a song I am starting to listen to so much that I get it stuck in my head and I can't forget the words no matter what.**

**But first, I'm going to give you all a wonderful chapter of Into The Fire.**

**Before I do, however, I'd like to address something. Arizona and Callie are going to meet very similarly to how they did in the show. No, they're not going to meet in college. Nor will they meet during Arizona's residency or anything of that nature. They're going to meet when Arizona becomes the new head of Peds and Callie is a resident. **

**This story is just a way to show my idea of Arizona's life before meeting Callie and seeing how much she's grown since. **

**Some things will be different, and after they've met I definitely have a plan for how to end the story and things like that. So please, don't ask me when they're going to meet. Please. It just irritates me, and I know it shouldn't, but it does. **

**Thanks y'all. **

**Please do enjoy Chapter 10.**

* * *

It had been a month since Arizona was forced by Teddy to go to therapy. Her grades had since then improved and she had stopped being a drunken mess. Well, she had become less of one.

Once a week she still got trashed to drown out her sorrows, but it wasn't every single day as it had been before. Arizona saw growth in herself, as did everyone around her.

With these therapy sessions she realized that she had to accept the fact that her brother was gone. That every year on her birthday she wouldn't have someone to turn to and high five and yell, "we're (insert age here)!"

Arizona was also learning the most important thing of all. Her twin wouldn't want her to be doing these things. He would want her to try and grow stronger and learn to be independent rather than dependent. And he would want her to feel loved, even if he wasn't there anymore to tell her.

The blonde entered her therapist's office and sat down on the couch.

"Hey Dr. Plenterly," she greeted. "How's it going?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that, Arizona?" The blonde just grinned.

"So, Arizona," the doctor continued, "have you anything that you think you've learned these past few weeks?"

"I think… I think I know to be less to myself and try and advocate."

"Care to give me an example of what you mean?"

"Well… The worst thing about Tim dying wasn't his death. It wasn't finding out I'd never see him again. It was the fact that I wasn't ever going to be able to talk to him again about anything. I wish I could find a way to go back in time and make it so he never got deployed. I know that sounds awful and selfish but I just miss my brother!"

"It is okay to miss him, Arizona. It doesn't make you an awful person for wishing he was still alive."

* * *

"_Therapy was one of the best and worst things of my life. It helped me grow as a person but it also broke me down. Speaking with someone about my _problems_ helped me become who I am today._

_It helped me realize that there was a reason for Tim's death, that there was a reason for me to continue living and not destroy my life._

_Because of therapy, I became a surgeon. Yes, Tim died because he basically got blown up and shot, but I am certain had there been more doctors he would have had a better chance. Therapy helped me realize that."_

* * *

The two sat in silence for a while. Arizona was trying to feel better about the fact her brother was dead. But there just wasn't any feeling better. It was all a lot of distress and sadness. But she knew that she needed to move on. Not forget…but move on.

The rest of her appointment remained silence. She left in a rush, needing to get to her biochemistry class on time.

She took a seat next to Teddy when she arrived. She had only been a minute or two late, but her professor was already deep in his talk about titration curves.

Arizona tuned him out by whispering to Teddy.

"My session went pretty well today."

"It did? That's good, 'Zona."

"I didn't cry this time. I just talked. And then sat in silence."

"That sounds like an improvement. I'm proud of you."

* * *

"_Teddy was my rock. She was my person. She was everything to me after Tim's death. And that's why I am so happy that she forced me to see the error of my ways and helped me get better."_

"_Hon, she didn't force you to see the error of your ways, she told you she'd kick your ass out on the street if you didn't get help."_

"_Callie! That is soooo untrue." The blonde knew that was partially true. Perhaps not the exact phrasing, but the taller blonde had been quite frank with her that night._

"_Whatever you say, babe."_

* * *

The blonde smiled slightly, and began to listen to her biochemistry professor. She knew if she didn't that when they had a test, she'd fail. And after her epidemic when Tim died and she was being trashed every night and failing everything, well, she couldn't risk it.

Arizona and Teddy left the class as they were dismissed. The two decided to meet up with Owen after his lecture ended. So, they walked to his building and waited outside for him.

They were too busy in conversation to notice that the ginger man had come from his lecture hall.

"It's creepy how you two were waiting out here for me," he stated.

Arizona visibly jumped. "Owen! You scared me. Don't do that."

He rolled his blue eyes. "If you hadn't been not paying attention, I wouldn't have scared you."

She mentally cursed him and his logic.

"Oh whatever!" She grumbled. Teddy and Owen laughed at the blonde, and the trio walked off towards the beautiful lawn nearby his lecture hall. They took a seat underneath a large tree.

"It's so beautiful outside," Arizona commented, smiling.

"That it is," the two other patrons agreed. It didn't take long before they started making plans for the weekend. They were all going to go to Virginia and watch the local college football team with Arizona's parents.

Every day since the day she found out Tim was dead, even when she had gotten wasted in the nights, she spoke with her mother and father. And after the funeral, she, Teddy, and Owen had been invited to come with the Colonel and Barbara to watch the Virginia Tech football team.

She wasn't quite sure what had sparked this, but she wasn't going to say no. She figured that would break her mother more than she had already been broken.

* * *

So four days later on Friday evening, Owen was driving along the freeway with Teddy and Arizona in the back of his car, driving him virtually insane.

"Will you two idiots stop distracting me!?"

"Owen, come on! We're just having some fun!"

"Yeah Owey," Teddy crooned, using her childhood nickname for the man, "just having some fun."

"You're acting like children!" He grunted in response.

"So? That's the fun of it!" The redheaded man rolled his eyes and continued driving.

* * *

A few hours later, they arrived in the small town of Blacksburg. Arizona told him the directions of how to navigate down the curvy, long roads of the area.

"Turn here," she commanded. "And then drive for a bit and when you see a sign that says Longshop you'll be about five minutes away."

The last time they had gone, all three of them, to Blacksburg was for the funeral. But Arizona had driven rather than allow Owen or Teddy to do it.

The trio got out of the car and cheered, for they were finally done with their uncomfortable drive. When they got inside, Arizona helped Teddy and Owen pick their rooms and put their stuff in their respective spaces.

Barbara Robbins, once all the fuss of getting inside had died down, embraced Arizona in a hug.

"Arizona! I missed you. I made some cookies for you all."

Echoes of "thanks mom" and "thanks Mrs. Robbins" were waved off by the elder woman. She protested when they called her "Mrs. Robbins" and instead said they should call her Barbara.

The two adults sheepishly nodded, before following Arizona quickly into the kitchen to get cookies. Even at the age of twenty-one, they couldn't resist sweets. Especially not Barbara's. Hers were absolute heaven.

After scarfing down their fill in cookies, the three decided to go around town to waste the rest of their afternoon away. As soon as they were back in the car driving towards downtown Arizona realized how stupid of an idea it was to pile back into the car they had all recently got done complaining about having been in.

* * *

Teddy, Owen, and Arizona piled out of the car and went exploring. Arizona, having done this before when she found out her family had moved here, knew the way around a little.

There were newer shops since the last time she had been in the area. An art supply shop had been added in, and though Arizona had never been artistic, she felt compelled to buy something.

The three entered the shop with an open mind. Arizona quickly fell in love with the small store. She knew hardly anything about art, yet she thought they had a beautiful selection of paints.

A sales associate quickly noticed them.

"Hello and welcome. How may I help you?"

"Can you help me get a good solid sketch pad, a canvass or two and some acrylic paints? Ooh, and some oil pastels! Don't forget water colour coloured pencils!"

The associate eagerly grinned. "Sure! Follow me, ma'am."

Arizona complied. Teddy and Owen were hot on her heels as she and the sales associate were sauntering around.

The blonde ended up spending fifty dollars, but she thought it was worth it. Teddy and Owen thought she was insane, but did not criticize her. Instead, they continued to explore the town and before they knew it, it was dark outside.

* * *

"_What did you ever do with all of that?" Their oldest son questioned._

"_I think that's a story for another time. I promise, if you wait, you'll love it."_

"_But I want to hear it now!"_

"_Patience is a virtue. Remember that."_

* * *

They chose to head back only once they noticed that the busy streets had become quiet. Owen allowed Teddy to drive, claiming he was too tired to drive. The taller blonde did as asked, and Arizona sat with Owen in the back of the car, bugging him to no end.

Owen was the opposite of Arizona. He was calm, cool, and collected. Arizona was scattered, perky, and a little bit borderline not-so-sane. And when you put those two together in the back of a car where the blonde could harass him? Let's just say it didn't turn out so well.

* * *

"_Uncle Owen and I were always great friends. But he always hated how I'd bother him. It's because I'm too awesome for him," Arizona said, grinning. Her children just stared at her with a strange look, until her oldest son spoke._

"_You are awesome mom," he said. "You care and do your best to be there." _

_The blonde's heart swelled a little in that moment, refusing to let the tears that she desperately wanted to let fall drip from her eyes. They weren't sad tears, but rather, happy tears. Happy, "I feel loved" tears._

* * *

Owen got out of the car as fast as he could when Teddy pulled it to a stop and parked. When he got inside of the house, Barbara looked at him strangely.

"Mrs.-" he paused. "Barbara, your daughter is insane! And she's driving me there too!"

"Oh, Owen dear, I already knew she was insane." Barbara laughed and wore a hearty smile on her face as Arizona and Teddy walked into the room.

Arizona eyed Owen and her mother suspiciously but said nothing of the exchange, other than a not so threatening, "I'm watching you two!"

The next day the Robbins family plus two were heading to the campus of Virginia Tech. When they arrived each person was checked for weaponry, their tickets taken up, and they were allowed to go ahead to the stadium seats.

Somehow, Arizona's parents had gotten them seats near the field. She wasn't quite sure how, but they had. So she, Teddy, Owen, her mom, and her father piled into the bleachers.

Growing up with her father and her brother Arizona had learned to appreciate football very much. Hell, she learned to appreciate any sport.

* * *

"_Is this why you make us play sports?"_

"_Well…yes and no. I think playing on a sports team builds character but it also is fun to watch you guys scramble around." The blonde grinned._

* * *

The annoying voice of the announcer spoke into the stadium. "Alright! We're fifteen minutes from game time here in Hokie country. Who do you think will win, the Hokies or Yellow Jackets?"

"God," Arizona grunted, "these announcers are so stupid. They think people enjoy hearing their voices."

"Arizona dear don't be so rude."

"Sorry mom," she muttered, blushing slightly.

The game started, sure enough, fifteen minutes later. The first quarter went without a score. The Virginia Tech offense was good, but the Georgia Tech defense was better, and vice versa. Arizona could tell it was going to be a hard fought game.

* * *

Halfway through the second quarter, a player from the Hokies broke down across the field and ran the ball for a touchdown. The crowd broke into a loud frenzy of yells. Almost every single one of them was some form of "YES!" or "GO HOKIES!" but a few, coming from the Georgia Tech side, were boos.

It was late in the third quarter and the Yellow Jackets had managed to drive the ball down and score. Minutes later, the Hokies had fumbled and Georgia got possession.

Arizona wanted to scream "come on you fuckers" but figured that if her mother heard her say such a thing she'd have her stuck in Virginia forever on house arrest.

Georgia was so close to scoring, and everyone was on the edge of their uncomfortable metal seats. The blonde shot up and screamed in joy as the ball was intercepted by Virginia Tech.

"RUN! RUN!" She screamed as the defensive player took off sprinting as fast as he could.

He was tackled at the five yard line. The Hokies were moments away from scoring. And by the time the next play happened, everyone cheering for Virginia Tech team were on their feet yelling in pure happiness.

* * *

The fourth quarter started and ended quickly. Each team's defense became solid and no one could score. If any major play was made, it was two first downs in a row. But even that was rare in this cutthroat defensive game.

The quarter ended, and the Hokies had won. Arizona, Owen, and Teddy were beyond excited. The three had decided, that after the game, they'd go celebrate at a local bar and catch a cab back to Arizona's parent's house.

They arrived at Hokie House and sat down at the bar. Owen ordered a beer, while Arizona and Teddy decided to go more hardcore- tequila.

Two shots of tequila each later, Arizona was feeling a buzz. Teddy, too, felt her senses and inhibitions lowering from the alcohol. Arizona thought for a moment about how she had managed to get a buzz from only two shots of tequila considering her recent past history with drinking, but shrugged it off mentally. She didn't care enough to comprehend the effects of the drug.

Quite a few drinks later left Owen, Teddy, and Arizona drunk on their asses. Owen, whom originally stuck with a beer, had long since changed his mind and was gulping down his fifth shot of tequila.

None of the three knew how many shots Teddy or Arizona had taken. They were too busy being drunk to care.

Though they were not originally from the area, it didn't seem to matter. Everyone at this particular bar was celebrating the win of the Virginia Tech team.

A drunken beer pong game was starting in the corner as the trio went to exit the bar. Owen wanted to join, but Teddy and Arizona rationalized that they were too far from sober to play and not end up ten times as drunk.

* * *

"_That night is on my top twenty best nights ever. I think it's there because I was spending the time with some of the best people ever…and because they were helping me recover from one of my darkest times."_

"_I'm going to sound like such a sap for saying this," Arizona's daughter began, "but this story is so inspiring and you aren't even done telling it!"_

_Arizona laughed lightly as Callie slid her arm around the blonde's waist and looked their daughter dead in the eye and said, "It really is inspiring."_

_There was nothing but pure love in the room at that exact moment. Love surrounded them. And everyone in that room couldn't have been happier about that fact._

* * *

The next morning when everyone was awake and most definitely hung over, Arizona, Teddy, and Owen left the beautiful mountains of Virginia and drove back to Johns-Hopkins University.

When Teddy and Arizona got back into their apartment, the shorter blonde looked at her roommate and best friend and hissed, "I'm never drinking alcohol again as long as I live. I can't believe I let you idiots talk me into that."

Teddy snorted. "Says the girl who decided to, for almost a month, drink herself into a horrid mess each night."

"That is irrelevant!" Arizona protested.

"How?"

"I don't know, but I don't care enough right now to argue. I'm taking some asprin and sleeping until I die."

* * *

"_I'm not saying this because I want any of you to go out and get plastered, but if you happen to do so, asprin and water will be your best friend." _

"_Arizona!" Callie hissed. "You shouldn't be telling our children that!"_

_The blonde rolled her eyes. "Do you think these angels would really do anything?"_

_The brunette just grunted in response. Arizona grinned, knowing she had won that short lived argument._

* * *

**A/N; Thank you guys for being patient with me and loving this story as much as I do! I was going to try and make this chapter over 5,000 words long, but then I realized that the length doesn't matter- what matters is the amount of soul and passion within the content. So, I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter.**

**The next update is going to include a time skip! A bit of a major one, but no worries. **

**Please, review! It helps me decide what was good and what was bad within a chapter. **


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